Get Over It
by Gnome1
Summary: Sometimes she wished that she’d never let him in, and she asked herself how she let a guy hurt her that bad...and then Tristan smiled at her, and it all made perfect sense; his smile, his laugh, his voice...'
1. The Invisible Ring

A/N: I tried doing this before but I didn't know what to do so it messed up. I'm sorry to everyone who read that stupid little thing on it before. I don't know how it got on because I didn't put it on there!!! ANYWAY: This is AU. When Chris and Lorelai were sixteen they had twins, Devin and Victoria (Vicky). Eleven months later they had another girl, Rory. When Rory was three her parents got a divorce, Lorelai kept Vicky and the mansion in Hartford. Chris got custody of Devin and they moved into a mansion in Boston while Straub and Francine Hayden had custody of Rory and the three of them moved to Maine. Rory and Devin see each other every other month and they get along very well. Neither of them ever see Vicky and she doesn't get along well with the other two. (but don't worry about her until later). Oh, and I know that this wouldn't really happen, but I need it for the story. This is my firs fan fic, so please be gentle. Disclaimer will apply to whole story: I do not own Gilmore Girls or anything to do with it so PLEASE don't sue me!   
  
A sleek black BMW slid into the driveway of the large mansion. The driver side door opened soundlessly. Thirty year old Christopher Hayden stepped out of the driver side door as his fourteen year old son, Devin Hayden climbed out the passenger side.   
  
Devin had sandy blonde hair and was built like his father. Everyone said that he acted like a young Chris. He had inherited his father's badass, playboy, care free attitude. And instead of his twin sister, Vicky, getting the wild attitude of their mother, his little sister, Rory had gotten it. The way you could tell that Rory and Devin were brother and sister was their attitude, and their eyes. They had Lorelai's eyes. Clear, haunting, deep blue.   
  
Although Devin lived in Boston, he was tan, and with his blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and built body he screamed 'pretty boy'. Until you got to his clothes. At the moment he was wearing baggy jeans, under which you could see his wallet chain. He had a Slipknot shirt and it was hard to see his Converse under his pants, which dragged the ground. Around his wrist there was a leather band and his neck had a silver and black chain. His spiked hair had dyed red tips.   
  
Devin walked up the walk to the front steps followed closely by Chris. He took a beep breath and looked back at his father, who nodded. The teenager raised his arm and knocked three times on the door, a few seconds passed until the double oak doors opened slowly, revealing a thirteen year old girl.   
  
She looked similar to her brother, she was wearing baggy jeans with red stitching that dragged the ground, completely covering her Vans. She had on a red tank top that said LP in black and on the back at the top it said Linkin Park. She had red and black stripped arm warmers that went from her elbow to the bottom of her fingers and had thumb holes cut into them. Her chocolate hair was dyed dark blue at the tips and pulled into two messy buns at the back of her head.   
  
Rory smiled and jumped into her brother's arms, enveloping him tightly. They got along better than most siblings. "So, Devin finally decided to come and rescue me?" she asked in a playful tone.  
  
"No, actually I was forced" he had the same tone as his sister.   
  
"Well don't I feel loved?" jumping out of her brother's embrace, she turned to Chris, hugging him, "Hey Daddy".   
  
"Hey sweetie, are your grandparents home?" by the time he was done asking his mother was headed down the stairs.  
  
"Christopher, Devin!", she said excitedly, "Straub, come down here, our lovely son has decided to grace us with his presence", she hugged the two.  
  
"Nice mom, love the sarcasm".  
  
"What?", she asked in an innocent voice as her husband came out of his study and walked over.  
  
"Chris", his father said, embracing him, "And Devin".  
  
"Hey Dad, Hey Grandpa", they said in unison.  
  
"Lets all go in the sitting room and talk", the children's grandmother said exitedly.  
  
Chris grimmaced, "Alright, if I must".  
  
"Come on Chris, it can't be that bad", his father said.  
  
"Oh, I believe it can".  
  
"No talking from you until we sit down".  
  
"Yes mother", after the adults talking for a few hours and Devin and Rory having a contest to see who could drink the most coffee and sodas the fastest, Francine said,   
  
"So, you've come to steal Rory away, right?"  
  
"Actually, no, we don't want her anymore, you can keep her", that comment caused Rory smacked her brother in the back of the head, "OUCH! ", he said, rubbing the back of his head, "Damn woman, that hurt".  
  
"Um, that was kinda the point".  
  
"Do you have on a ring?"  
  
"No".  
  
"It sure felt like it".  
  
"Well, I don't".  
  
"Hm, maybe you have on an invisible ring then?" he suggested, "And you don't know it's on?"  
  
"Oh, yes I'm sure thats it", she rolled her eyes at her brother.   
  
"So we agree?"  
  
"Sure".  
  
"And don't roll your eyes at me, woman"  
  
"Okay, enough about the invisible ring, we should go, we've been here for almost three hours and you two have school tomorrow," Chris said.   
  
"Ah, the Father says to go".  
  
"Yes, does Rory detect a hint of laughter in his voice", she asked.   
  
"No, she doesn't", her father said.  
  
"Hm, Devin thinks he does".  
  
"Can the children please stop talking in the third person?" he asked, annoyed.  
  
"Hm, touchy, touchy, Rory thinks the father should take a deep breath".  
  
"I'm serious, you two have school tomorrow, we need to go, now!" he finished loudly.  
  
"Ooh, Rory thinks that it is time to go, what does Devin think?"  
  
"Devin agrees with Rory, the Father is not humored anymore"  
  
Rory linked arms with her brother, walking towards the door, "My stuff got there yesterday, right?"  
  
"Yup, yup"  
  
"Odie kay then, coming Daddy dearest?" she asked as the two stepped out the door.   
  
"She is too much like her mother", Chris said to his parents. They laughed and nodded.  
  
"Call us when you get home okay?" Francine told Chris.  
  
"I will mom, bye dad, oh, I get to drive back to Boston with two overly caffenated teenagers, fun".  
  
"You have our sympathy".  
  
"Thanks", he hugged both of his parents and turned, only to hear Devin yell through the opened door,  
  
"The children is waiting!" Chris shook his head and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him.  
  
"The father is here, are the children happy?".  
  
"The children are thrilled Daddy dearest" Rory said in a high voice as Devin erupted into cheers.   
  
Chris rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, 'This will be interesting'.  
  
HAYDEN HOUSE, BOSTON  
  
After Rory had settled into her room, she walked downstairs to the kitchen and got ice-cream out of the freezer. Not bothering to get a bowl, she ate right out of the carton. Devin walked in and shook his head, but grabbed a spoon for himself and sat beside his sister, who held the carton out for him.  
  
"So, you get to start Whitland tomorrow", he said, shoving cookie dough ice cream into his mouth.  
  
"Oh, joy", she said sarcastically, "Another Prep school, fun". Her brother smirked, "Well lucky you, because you happen to be the sister of one of the two most popular guys in school", he rubbed his nuckles on his shirt and blew on them.  
  
"Oh, and I guess I'm sisters with the modest one?"  
  
"Of course"  
  
"But wait, did you say one of the two most popular guys?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"But you're my only brother!"  
  
He sat in silence for a second, trying to figure out what she meant, once he got it he shouted, "HEY!", she jumped off her stool and laughed as he chased her around the kitchen.   
  
Chris heard Rory and Devin yelling in the kitchen from his study and, woundering what the problem was, he got up and jogged to the kitcken.When he walked in Rory jumped around him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.  
  
"Save me, Daddy, save me!"  
  
"That's cheating, if I tackle dad then I'll get grounded!"  
  
"Not my problem buddy"  
  
"Okay, time for the little children to go to bed!" Chris said loudly.  
  
"Night dad, later Dev" Rory turned and ran up the stairs with Devin hot on her heels. Chris could hear them laughing all the way upstairs. He shook his head, thinking to himself, Rory's first day at Whitland would be worth watching.   
  
  
  
A/N: So, no Trory action here but Tristan will be in the next chapter I promise! Converse are shoes if you didn't get that. Please be nice and again, I'm SO SORRY to everyone who tried to read this before! 


	2. A School Song and Mary

A/N: Thanks to the people who reviewed my first chapter. And I really want to thank LittleAngelInLove. Without her I wouldn't have been able to write anything! So thankyou so much Kelcie! And if you haven't read her stories, which if you are a Trory fan like myself I'm sure you have, then you seriously should because she is an awesome writer!  
  
Rory rolled over and put her pillow over her face, trying to block out the sound of her cow alarm clock. Finally, after almost ten minuets, she realized that just lying there with a pillow over your head and hoping that lightning would suddenly come down and hit the clock wouldn't make it stop making that annoying mooing noise.   
  
She heard someone open the door and felt a body jump on top of her. Devin pulled the pillow off her face, causing that annoying thing called light to stream on to her face, "Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty, you get to come to my world today."  
  
"Your world?, well, doesn't that make me feel un-nervous?"  
  
"It 'un-nervous' even a word?"  
  
"Do I look like I even care? And get off of me!"  
  
"Wakey, wakey", he started to tickle her nose. Her hand shot up and pushed him which, considering he was straddling her stomach caused him to almost fall over.   
  
"Hey", he said, steadying himself, "What was that for?"  
  
"You mean besides you breathing?"   
  
"Ok, here let me stop breathing, and if you hear something large and solid hit the ground don't worry, it's just my unconscious body."  
  
"I won't", she rolled over, causing him to loose balance and topple over the side.  
  
"Ow", Rory smiled after hearing him say that, not having opened her eyes yet.  
  
"Devil child", he hissed.  
  
"Runs in the family."  
  
"I would strongly suggest that you getting up."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"The time."  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Six-thirty."  
  
"What time do we leave?"  
  
"Seven."  
  
"SHIT!", she yelled, jumping out of bed and running to her bathroom. Devin just smiled at the closed door, shaking his head slightly. "And wipe that smirk your face!", it just widened, "I said OFF!", it vanished instantly.  
  
"Now that is just creepy."  
  
After Rory got out of the shower, she looked at her uniform that the maid had laid out. The school colors were red, black, and white. For the girls uniform you had to wear the plaid skirt (of course) and you had a choice of either a red blazer with a white button-up shirt, a black or red sweater with either a button-front or close-front with a white shirt under it, or a plain white collar button-up shirt (either short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, or long sleeve). And unless they were wearing the sweater they had to wear the black and red striped tie.   
  
She had seen Dev's uniform and for the boys they had black slacks and a choice similar to the girl's. The only difference was instead of sweaters they had red sweater vests and their shirts had to be long- sleeved in the winter and could have short sleeves in the spring and fall. The boys bad normal ties and girls had those little girl-tie type things.   
  
WHITLAND PREPATORY ACADEMY  
  
Rory and Devin walked through the deserted halls of the school, "Who in their right mind comes to school this early?", she asked as the third student they had seen that morning passed them.   
  
"We're here this early."  
  
"Yes, see there is this thing called 'My First Day', involving me having to come to school thirty minuets early to meet the Head Master."  
  
"So why am I here thirty minuets early?"  
  
"Morale support.", she said as they came to the large door of the administration. She stopped, "Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because there is this thing called 'Your First Day' involving you coming to school thirty minuets early to meet the Head Master."  
  
"I don't wanna."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He he, I don't do well with Heads", she said, playing with the strap on her messenger bag that went across her chest.   
  
"Oh well, you made it this far", he opened the door, putting a hand in the small of her back and pushing her through. There was an old strict-looking lady with spectacles half way down a long nose. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight bun at the op of her head. When Rory saw her a snort of laughter escaped her. Devin stepped on her foot and it died instantly. The woman's head snapped up suddenly and the teenagers jumped slightly in surprise.  
  
"Can I help you with something?"   
  
"Um, uh, yes my name is Lorelai Hayden, it's my first day and I'm here to see the head master", she still had slight laughter in her voice.  
  
"One moment please", she disappeared behind a large door.  
  
"What were you doing?!", Devin whispered.  
  
"I thought she looked funny- slash- scary, you didn't?" Devin rolled his eyes, but she could see a smile playing on his lips. The secretary walked back in.  
  
"The Head Master will see you now Miss Hayden." Rory cast a weary look at Devin, who nodded and followed her in.  
  
HEAD MASTER'S OFFICE  
  
"Hello Miss Hayden."  
  
"Hello Head Master Calaway."  
  
"I have been looking at your file, and you are apparently very gifted. You are thirteen and you are in ninth grade, correct?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"So then, you skipped grade four?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you have a brother in ninth grade?", he asked, motioning to Devin.  
  
"Yes Sir", Devin supplied.  
  
"Very well, I trust that he showed you the code of conduct and has helped you memorize the school song?"  
  
"Yes sir I taught it to her last night."  
  
"Very good, I see no need to give it to you then, here is your schedule and locker number, show your schedule to your teachers if you are late and they will let you go for today, you two may go." They stood up and walked nervously out of his office casting glances at each other.   
  
As soon as they were out of hearing range of the Administration Lady, Rory busted out laughing. After she got her composure back she turned to her surprised looking brother. "Is something funny Ror?"  
  
She stared at him in disbelief, "A school song?"  
  
He smirked, "Yeah."  
  
"Like, about your school?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Cracked out conceited people."  
  
"Gee, thanks."  
  
"Welcome."  
  
"Ok, so, we're three months into the school year. Let me see your schedule. Alright", he said after looking at it for a few seconds, "We have homeroom, three periods, lunch, and then four more periods. You and I have first, lunch, fourth, sixth, and seventh together."  
  
"Okay", she said slowly.  
  
"But, you have second, third, lunch, fourth, and seventh with my best friend Tristan."  
  
"Oh, yay, is Tristan a pretty boy?"  
  
"No, I actually think you may get along with Tristan." People had slowly started to arrive at school. "Okay, well I have to go to home room which is on the other side of the school, so , your locker is right there", he said pointing to her left, "And I'll see you in first period. Bye."  
  
"Bye.", she said weakly, it is going to be a confusing day, she thought to herself as people kept bumping into her in the crowded hall.  
  
AFTER FIRST PERIOD  
  
Rory and Devin walked out of second period together and she said, "You know, it really isn't that bad. With the whole 'your world' thing I thought it would be hell."  
  
He slung an arm around her shoulders and said, "Do you really think that I would let my little sister go through hell?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He mock-gasped, "I would never!"  
  
"Lying is a sin."  
  
"Ha ha ha, you know, you are a very funny girl."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Love you too."  
  
"I know, but hey, I have to go. My next class is in the North Wing and right now we're at the end of the East. So I'll see you at Lunch."  
  
"K"  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye." he turned and she immediately lost sight of his red hair in the throng.   
  
Rory walked slowly through the corridor, getting pushed by everyone walking by. She ignored everyone until one person surprised her.   
  
She was a few feet from her locker when someone's shoulder hit her's and, finally fed up with having to move out of everybody's way, she kept walking...but so did he which caused both of them to turn and face each other. Rory, who had expected some preppy pretty boy, was surprised to see that he was definitely NOT a pretty boy. He was taller than her. Probably about an inch shorter than Devin, making him around 5' 5". He had messy blonde hair, playful grey-blue eyes, an adorable smirk, and, from what she could see, a very nice body under that uniform. But what really stunned her was the accessories. He had a leather band on his wrist and a black messenger bag that, from what she could tell had patches and pins of metal and rock bands all over it. His blonde hair was dyed dark green at the tips. 'What is with dying the tips of your hair?' she wondered. Although he was the only person here other than Devin and herself that she had seen with an un-natural color in their hair. And she definitely didn't miss the way his eyes were raking over every inch of her.   
  
Tristan turned, ready to see who he had hit shoulders with, expecting it to be some bimbo who ran into him on purpose, but he was surprised to see a girl he didn't recognize looking back at him. She was obviously the new girl everyone was talking about, his only question was, why had no one mentioned that the new girl was that hott? She had long dark brown hair that was half up. The part that was up was in two french braids, and the other half was down, hanging around her shoulders and chest. She looked younger than fourteen, and she was a little shorter than him, probably around five feet. She had dark sapphire eyes and she definitely had a good body. He especially liked the alterations to the uniform. Instead of the knee-socks or solid black stockings the girls wore, she had fish net stockings and instead of saddle shoes, she was wearing platform Mary Janes. She had on a short sleeve shirt and on her arms there were red and black striped arm warmers with thumb holes. Instead of a girl's tie, she had on one of the ties that the boys wore, and her messenger bag was similar to his own. It was solid black and had alternative, rock, and metal band patches and pins on it. The tips of her dark hair were dyed blue. He saw the way she squirmed under his stare and he smirked. Oh yeah, she was definitely a Mary, a very good looking Mary, but still. "I hope that I bump into you again. Later Mary." With that he turned and walked away.   
  
She had opened her mouth to say 'Its Rory', but he walked away before she could get the words out. And she stood there for a few seconds with her mouth opened slightly, staring at the place the boy had been. When she realized that she was just standing there, her mouth snapped shut and she closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. Some people were so confusing.   
  
A/N: Ok, there it is, chapter two and we have some Trory in this one! YAY! Exiting! So I won't beg for reviews, but this IS my first ever story and I want to know what people think. So, if you want to, then review and tell me what you think! And if you didn't get the Mary Jane thing, well I guess you can figure they're shoes, but the are the close-toed dress shoes with a buckle strap. 


	3. The Dugrey Kid

A/N:   
  
a) Thankyou to everyone who reviewed, especially the nice ones  
  
b) On the last chapter I put that Rory and Devin came out of second period together. I meant to put first period because they don't have second period together.  
  
c) To jAMES f. dOUGHTY: You know what? The whole point of Fan FICTION is to write the characters how you WANT them to be! So I made them out to be punk and you know what? You can just deal with it!! If you don't like the story, don't read it! I don't care if you think my story is pretty bad because because you people have no idea how long it took me to get a story up (exept for one person), so I'm going to write what I want to and you can just deal with it! And to other people who said that I should have made them older, I will write stuff where they are older eventually, but I haven't seen any stories with them being younger. And I wanted to see what one would be like.  
  
d) To smile: Yeah, I guess you're right, I did kind of over do the uniforms didn't I? I just figured that since this school wasn't on the show that I would explain the uniform, but I guess that I could have just said that they were like Chilton uniforms but in different colors. *sigh* oh well, I'll try not to do it again. Darn I hate when people are right about that kind of stuff! grrrr   
  
e) And to ILUVALEC: If you want to read really good Trories then I would suggest going to 'Find' at the top and typing in LittleAngelInLove she has a bunch of Trories and they're all really good. I also like one by Mrs. Witter called 'Whatever Tomorrow Brings'. And a Bere is a good Trory writer too.   
  
  
  
After Rory had gone to her locker, she looked at her schedule and saw that her next class was Chemistry, West Wing, room 428 with Mrs. Watkins. As she made her way into the room, she saw that the boy from the hall was in this class. A groan escaped her as he spotted her and a smirk appeared on his face. She sat on the other side of the room, away from him.   
  
The teacher stood up after the bell rang and said, "Well class, we have a new student, Lorelai."  
  
"I go by Rory," she said, shooting a glare at the blonde boy on the other side of the room. He shrugged innocently and mouthed  
  
"How was I supposed to know?" She just rolled her eyes and turned back to the teacher.   
  
"So, Rory is there anything that you would like to tell the class about yourself?" the old teacher asked on a fake-sweet voice.  
  
"No." The class started to laugh, but Rory kept a completely straight face, staring right at the teacher.  
  
"Alright then, moving on, today we will continue yesterday's lesson....".  
  
Rory tried to ignore him, but for the entire lesson she could feel his eyes on her. A few minuets before the bell rang, she heard the teacher call, "Mr. Dugrey, may I see you for a moment?" Rory looked up and saw the Mary guy stand up. She turned to the girl beside her and said, "Hey, what does 'Mary' mean?" The girl turned to look at her,  
  
"Rory, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Hi, I'm Melanie. But you wanted to know what Mary means?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well if someone calls you Mary then it means The Virgin Mary. Whoever did it thinks that you look innocent, like a goody-goody. Why, who called you Mary?" she asked, seeing Rory's face change into annoyance.  
  
"Him," she said, pointing to the guy at the front, "That Dugrey kid."  
  
The girl's face changed from kind to jealous in .05 seconds. She glared at Rory, "He calls you Mary? And it is your first day here?"  
  
"Yeah," Rory said slowly. The girl whipped around, ignoring Rory. 'Okay,' she thought to herself, 'That was weird.'   
  
She was grateful to hear the bell a few minuets later, standing up, she whispered to herself, "Okay, only two periods and I already have the annoying guy calling me 'Mary' because apparently I look like an innocent goody-goody, and for some reason a perfectly nice girl hates me for it. Oh yeah, I'm doing really good." She felt someone fall in step beside her and she heard him say,   
  
"You know, I heard that having conversations with yourself is the the first sign of insanity."  
  
"Did you hear that at one of your Group Help meetings for Egos Anonymous, Bible Boy?"  
  
"Bible Boy?"  
  
"Yes, if I have to be the Virgin Mary, then you are obviously a very spiritual person and therefore you are Bible Boy," she said sarcastically.  
  
"Well actually, my name is-."  
  
"I don't care," she interrupted him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't care what your name is, there is no point in telling me because I don't talk to people who know my name, but insist on calling me Mary, so you're just wasting your time. And why are you still walking this way?"  
  
"My class is down here," he said as they stopped in front of the same door."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Please tell me that this isn't your class."  
  
"Sorry Mary." She looked down at her schedule and back up at him a few times as he leaned on the door frame and she leaned across from him. And sure enough her list said, 'South Wing, Geography, room 193 with Mr. Spruell. She groaned and walked into the class after him. He sat down and she went to the other side of the class room, as far away from him as she could get.  
  
In this class the introduction went pretty much the same way, the teacher said her name, she said its Rory, shot a glare at Tristan, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And she could still feel him staring at her the whole time, making her very self-conscious. When the bell rang he followed her out of the class again.   
  
"Do you EVER go away?" she asked .  
  
"I'm a very persistent person."  
  
"Good for you."  
  
"Why won't you talk to me?"  
  
"I am talking to you. My mouth is moving, sounds are coming out which are forming into words, and the words are directed towards you and you are responding in the same way, making this a conversation between us which means that I am most definitely talking to you."  
  
He stood there for a second, had she just said all that in one breath? "Well why won't you talk to me nicely?"  
  
"You are an egotistical playboy who uses girls for arm candy and then drops them when you see someone with a better body. It's like a hobby or something. You insist on calling me Mary when you know my name but nothing else about me, so how do you know that I even fit that description? And," she took a deep breath, finishing dramatically, "You have a Korn patch on your bag." With that she turned on her heel and walked away.   
  
He stood there, stunned. She had just said all that in one breath exept for the one at the end. Wait, Korn? That was why she hated him? Because he liked Korn? "Wait!" He called, running down the hall.   
  
"What!"  
  
"You don't like Korn?"  
  
"Augh!" she screamed, walking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. He smirked, walking down the hall to the cafeteria.  
  
A few minuets later she poked her head out to see the deserted hall. She breathed a sigh of relief, heading to the cafeteria to look for her brother.  
  
IN THE CAFETERIA  
  
Rory walked into the huge room slowly, looking around. But before she could say anything she heard someone call, "RORY!", she turned to see Devin waving at her from a table with seven or eight people at it and one empty chair beside him. She smiled and walked over. People shot glares at her, Devin's was obviously the table that you had to be invited to.   
  
She sat beside her brother and laid her forehead on his shoulder. not even looking at the other people at the other people. "I've only had three periods and some girl already hates me because this incredibly annoying guy keeps calling me Mary. I had him in my last two periods and he likes KORN and-"  
  
"Hey Mary."  
  
Rory raised her head, staring at a blue-eyed blonde with green tips in his hair. "Not you again," she groaned. Turning to her brother she said, "Please tell me that this isn't-"  
  
At the same time as Devin said, "Rory this is my best friend-"  
  
They finished at the same time, "Tristan." She groaned and her head made contact with the wooden table.  
  
Devin smirked, "Guys, this is my little sister, Rory." Not picking up her head she waved. "Ror," he said picking up her head for her, "This is Kaleb, Natalie, Tray, Katie, Josh, my girlfriend Erin, and you already know Tristan." He said, pointing to each of them as he said their name.   
  
"Actually," Tristan said, "We don't really know eachother, just that she hates me for liking Korn."  
  
"I hate Korn, with a passion." Her brother nodded.  
  
"So Rory," Erin started, who was on the other side of her, "Where did you move here from?"  
  
"Maine."   
  
And throughout the day Devin was very pleased, but not surprised to see that his friends accepted Rory immediately, she fit in perfectly. The girls had decided that they were taking her to a movie tonight and that they were all spending the night at Natalie's house so that they could get to know 'The Awesome Girl That Devin Had Kept From Them For So Long And Was Not Possibly Related To Him' to quote Katie. In fact, he noticed that after Rory told them about a jackass boyfriend that had played her and that she was a year younger than all of them, there was a brotherly glint in all the guys eyes, like they were willing to destroy any guy that hurt her. But he also noticed that in Tristan's eyes, there was a lot more than a look of brotherly or platonic affection.   
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, my third chapter. YAY! How exiting, review and tell me what you think. 


	4. Dark Flame

A/N: Hello my lovely little peoples! I have a new chapter up (obviously) and this one has TRORY! Yay (I'm so exited)   
  
SeveredLitKitten- I don't like Korn, but that's just me and I thought that it would be funny to have Rory hate it while Tristan loves it. I mean my brother is obsessed with Korn and most of what I listen to is Metal and Alternative but I don't know, I just do not like Korn. Sorry.   
  
I don't own Shadows Fall, Linkin Park, Korn, or Disturbed and it sucks. If there really is a club called Dark Flame then I guess I don't own it but if there isn't then I guess I do.  
  
On Friday Devin was sitting in the living room, flipping through channels when he heard the door bell ring. Chris and his girlfriend Alyson were in Cancun for the weekend and all hired help had gone home for the night. It rang again and he decided that he would rather ignore it than go through the trouble of getting up. Rory obviously wanted to pretend she hadn't heard it because a few seconds later he heard Shadows Fall blasting through the house.   
  
The door bell kept ringing for the next five minuets and he finally got tired of listening to it, so he stood up and walked to the door slowly, hoping whoever it was would just go away. But it was still ringing when he got to the door and threw it open. "WHAT?" He screamed at the annoying person on the other side. When he saw who it was, "Oh, it's you," he said grudgingly.  
  
Tristan smirked and Erin stepped into the house. "Oh, you look lovely."   
  
"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" he asked Tristan. His best friend was wearing baggy black pants covered in zipper-pockets and a Disturbed hoodie and Erin had on green slightly baggy Military pants and a black sleeveless shirt with a black jacket over it.  
  
"Well, if you want to wear that to Dark Flame then be my guest."  
  
"Who said anything about Dark Flame?"  
  
"Us." Erin said, pointing to herself and Tristan, "We came to get you and Rory so that we could go to the club."  
  
"Okay, one: Dark Flame isn't a club, it's a mosh pit of head-banging teenagers; two: What makes you think that we even want to go?"  
  
"Dev, come on, it is almost 10:30 on Friday night and you two are sitting at home, that is just sad, now go get dressed, and I'll go get Rory."  
  
"What makes you think that I want you, with all your hormones, going into my little sister's room?"  
  
"Um, so I can tell her to get dressed."  
  
"Erin could do that."  
  
"Yes, but I think you'd rather have Erin in your room." He said, dodging the two hands that came forward to hit him and running up the stairs.   
  
"I'm going to kill him one day." He told Erin.  
  
"Not if I get to him first." She said, following Devin upstairs to his room.  
  
  
  
RORY'S ROOM  
  
Tristan walked until he reached the room the music was coming from. He knocked loudly and heard her voice, "Come in." He was amazed that she had been able to hear him knock over the music. As he pushed the door open he saw her shutting off her stereo, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I've come to rescue you from a boring Friday night of listening to music in your room."  
  
"I would rather die of boredom than be rescued by you." He knew she was kidding, they had been having this kind of conversation everyday since she had gotten there.   
  
"You know that's not true."  
  
"Yes it is. I can live being bored on Friday, but I'm not sure that I can survive and evening of being around you."  
  
"You know you love me."  
  
"Not even close, and why are you so dressed up?"  
  
"We're going to a teen club called Dark Flame, actually, it is more like a rave than a club." he said the last part more to himself than to her.  
  
"Who's going?"  
  
"You, me, Erin, and your lovely brother."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Just like that?"  
  
"Just like that."  
  
"Okay." They stood there for a few minuets, his eyes wondering around her room.   
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"I have to change."  
  
"That's fine with me."  
  
"You need to leave."  
  
"I've seen what girls have and we both know that it's only a matter of time before I see you, so let's just get it over with, shall we?" He asked playfully.  
  
"Eww. You know you don't have to flaunt the fact that your not a Virgin."  
  
"You know Mary, I've been thinking, let's make it so you need a new nick name."  
  
"You know Tristan," she said, leaning into him seductively, caught off guard, he stumbled back, over the threshold of her room, "I think that's a wonderful idea. But," she paused, her smoky eyes looking him up and down, "You will never see what I have." she said, slamming the door in his face and locking it, laughing loudly.  
  
"Evil!" he called, through the door.  
  
"You wish."  
  
"You take away all my fun and then you laugh at me."  
  
"If you could have seen the look on your face, you would have laughed at yourself."   
  
"Lies!"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"I'm going to talk to nice people."  
  
"You won't find any in this house."  
  
"No, just not in that room."  
  
"Later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
It was almost eleven when Rory came down the stairs where the other three were. And when he saw her, Tristan smiled widely. She was wearing red plaid flares, platform boots, and her shirt was made of a sweater-type material that belled out at the end of the sleeve and zipped from her elbow down.   
  
"Ready?" asked Devin. Nobody really answered, but they walked out to Tristan's limo. When they got to Dark Flame, Tristan told the driver to come back around two and he slid an arm around Rory's waist, she tried to ignore the feeling that ran up her spine at the contact.   
  
The security guard, seeing Tristan and Devin, waved them to the front of the line. "Hey Drew."  
  
"Hey Dev, Tris, Erin. Who's this?" He asked upon seeing Rory.  
  
"My little sister and Tristan's new love interest."  
  
"I won't deny it." he said, looking her up and down.  
  
She rolled her eyes and removed his arm from her waist, trying to ignore the part of her that was protesting the removal of his touch.  
  
"Whatever, you guys can go on in."  
  
"Thanks Drew."  
  
"Anytime, Erin."  
  
Rory's jaw dropped as she stepped in, the room was dark and the walls were mirrors. Speakers on the ceiling caused the room to pulse as the last beats of 'Voices' by Disturbed died out. There were strobe lights and black lights everywhere. The room was coated with fog. They sat at a table and put their stuff down. Erin pulled Devin to the dance floor, leaving Rory and Tristan alone. He took off his hoodie, revealing a Korn shirt that fit him perfectly. Her eyes were roaming his fit body. She could tell that he had a six-pack. He smirked, "Like what you see Mary?"  
  
She shook her head, clearing it, "I hate Korn."  
  
"I wasn't talking about the shirt."  
  
"I know." But his jaw almost hit the floor as she took off what he had thought was her shirt. She pulled the sweater over her head, revealing a flat stomach and a black shirt with long sleeves, going all the way to her fingers, having thumb holes cut into them with rips down the sleeves. The shirt ended about five inches above her navel, which was pierced, the ring had a black jewel on the top and a fairy at the bottom.  
  
They sat talking for a few minuets until 'Figure.09' by Linkin Park pulsed into the club. "I love this song!" Rory screamed over the music. Tristan held his hand out and she took it, following him into the crowd. Devin hadn't been exaggerating, it was a huge moshpit of people jumping and head-banging, only a few people were dancing. His hands found her hips and her hands were on his chest, finding it rock hard as they moved to the beat of the blaring music.  
  
Nothing ever stops all these thoughts  
  
And the pain attached to them  
  
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening  
  
It's like nothing I can do  
  
Will distract me when  
  
I think of how I shot myself in the back again  
  
'Cause from the infinite words I could say  
  
I put all the pain you gave me on display  
  
But didn't realize  
  
Instead of setting it free  
  
I took what I hated and made it a part of me  
  
[It never goes away]  
  
And Now  
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be right here  
  
You've become a part a of me  
  
You'll always be my fear  
  
I can't separate myself from what I've done  
  
I've given up a part of me  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
Hearing your name  
  
The memories come back again  
  
I remember when it started happening  
  
I'd see you in every thought I had and then  
  
The thoughts slowly found words attached to them  
  
And I knew as they escaped away I was committed myself to them  
  
And every day I regret those things  
  
'Cause now I see  
  
That I took what I hated and made it a part of me  
  
[It never goes away]   
  
And now   
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be right here  
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be my fear  
  
I can't separate myself from what I've done  
  
I've given up a part of me  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
Get away from me  
  
Gimme my space back  
  
You gotta just go  
  
Everything comes to memories of you   
  
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you know  
  
I've let you go  
  
Get away from me  
  
And now  
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be right here  
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be my fear  
  
I can't separate myself from what I've done  
  
I've given up a part of me  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
I've let myself become lost inside these thoughts of you  
  
Giving up a part of me  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
A few hours later Devin came to find the pair and told them that it was almost two and they needed to go. That night Tristan and Erin stayed with Rory and Devin.  
  
Rory woke up and she heard the wind howling outside. Slowly, she crept down the stairs and opened the front door, the wind bit at her bare legs and arms. She heard someone behind her say, "Do you always walk outside at four in the morning in November wearing shorts and a tank top?"  
  
"Only when the wind is so fast. I don't know why, but I've always loved wind and rain, what about you, Tristan?"  
  
He walked up beside her and shrugged, "I've always liked it too. More that the sun."  
  
"Yeah, me too." He took off his hoodie and put it on her. "Thanks." She whispered, grateful for the warmth. They stood in a comfortable silence for a few minuets until she finally said, "Tristan?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Um, don't get mad at me for asking, but, uh, why are you a player?" He looked away from her and she said quickly, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to but I was just wondering, why you do, I mean, I think you would make a good long term boyfriend, do you just not want a relationship or what?"  
  
He turned to face her, "It's a long story."  
  
"I have time."  
  
He sighed, "Well, you know how I live with my aunt and uncle?" she nodded, "Well I used to live with my parents. We lived here in Boston until fifth grade and then we moved to Connecticut. So from fifth to seventh grade I lived in Connecticut." He paused, looking at her, and continued, "You know how a lot of people in society marry for business or because their family forces them to?" she nodded again, "Well, my parents didn't. They were in love." She smiled, and he continued.   
  
"I had always believed in love. I thought that I would find someone for me one day. My older cousin had a friend who was a player, and I thought it was wrong and disgusting to use girls like that. But in sixth grade my dad started to have a lot of business trips and he stayed at his office longer nights. My mom knew something was wrong but she didn't want to accept it." He looked at her and saw that she was hanging on his every word, biting her bottom lip absent mindedly. "I was in seventh grade when we figured out that he was cheating on my mom. He had been having an affair with his twenty five year old secretary since we moved there." Rory could see tears forming in his eyes.  
  
"My mom went into depression and couldn't look at me. My dad stopped talking to me too. They couldn't get a divorce because, 'What would everyone think?', divorce wasn't even an option!" he said angrily, "After that, part of me died, and they thought that it would be best if I moved back here with my aunt and uncle." Tears were now running down his red wind whipped cheeks.  
  
"So, I turned into the player I am now. I took what I hated and made it part of me, I didn't used to be like this. I wasn't always a player. I don't know if I believe in love anymore. And if I do I sure as hell don't trust it. Love fades. My dad had started to fall out of love with my mom. And I mean, if love really does exist then why did he do that to her? If love is real, then how the hell did it disappear do fast?!"  
  
His face was covered with tears and they were still filling his eyes. He had never cried about it, she could tell, he had never shed one tear over his parent's shattered marriage. So she did the only thing she knew to do. She sat him down on the steps and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, holding him to her. Tristan was caught off guard, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and cried into her shoulder. She rocked him gently and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. "Shhh, it'll be okay." She whispered.   
  
After fifteen minuets he looked up at her, his eyes swollen from crying more in the past few minuets than he had in his whole life. "Thanks Ror," he whispered.   
  
She smiled, "No problem."   
  
He looked from her lips to her eyes and back again, leaning in closer, so did she. Rory could feel his breath on her face. They were inches apart. And right before their lips touched, A blinding bolt of lightning tore the sky and thunder roared, causing both teens to jump in surprise. Rory blushed and Tristan smiled. "Come on, we should go inside," he said, helping her up. They stopped outside her door, "Um, Rory?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I've never even told Devin that whole story. So can that and the little water works show stay between us?"  
  
"What water works?" she asked, smiling.  
  
He smiled back, "Thanks."  
  
"Night," she whispered.  
  
He kissed her on the forehead, "Goodnight," he walked back to Devin's room. She pushed her door opened and climbed into bed, a small smile still playing on her face as she curled up in Tristan's hoodie, falling asleep as the rain started to pour.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
And now  
  
You've become a part of me   
  
You'll always be right here  
  
You've become a part of me  
  
You'll always be right here  
  
I can't separate myself from what I've done  
  
I've given up a part of me  
  
I've let myself become you  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 


	5. Confusion

A/N: Hello, hello my reading peoples.   
  
jen: I can't have Chris and Lorelai together, she has to live in Hartford. You'll understand later.  
  
Rory's gaze shifted slowly upwards. A sharp pain shot through her chest. There he was, with some girl pushed up against her locker. She hated it. It had only been two weeks. Two weeks since he had told her more than he had ever told anyone. And here he was. What was the red head's name? Alicia, or something, it didn't matter. Tristan hadn't said anything about their almost-kiss and she had followed his lead. He'd been hurting, and he obviously hadn't meant to almost kiss her. He didn't want to make that mistake.  
  
For a moment she let her mind wonder, what would it feel like, to be the one separating Tristan from her locker? What would it feel like to have him pushing her against the wall? She shook her head. No. He had ignored her for two weeks, and when he had to talk to her he was impersonal and cold. And here he was, a hand on either of this airhead's hips. She wondered what it would feel like if he were trailing his large, warm lips along her neck. No. She told herself again. He was, or had been a best friend, almost a brother, he was NOT boyfriend material. He was evil. And conceited. And he had some random girl pushed up against a locker that was not her. Wow, hang on a second, where did that come from? Why did it matter if it wasn't her? She hated him now, right?  
  
There she was, he could feel her staring at him. With those amazing sapphire eyes. No. He told himself, she didn't mean anything to him. She was just his best friend's little sister. She hadn't mentioned their amazing almost-kiss and he'd followed her lead. He had wondered why the gods had such a cruel sense of humor. Why, at that exact moment, had lightning struck? Or had they been telling him to 'get on with it'? It didn't matter anymore. They hadn't spoken in two weeks. Well, not like they used to anyway. She hadn't approached him and he wouldn't be the first to talk. Well, that's what you get, spilling your soul to a girl and she completely blows you off because of an almost-kiss. Wonderful. Why couldn't she see how much she meant to him? His mind wondered for a second, what would it feel like if it was Rory pushed up against the locker, with her small hands on his chest? Her skin was soft, he'd found that out at the club. He pushed the girl, what was her name? Alicia or Aleena, or something, harder into the locker, wanting to make Rory jealous.  
  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, walking to her locker. "Uh, yeah, hi. Could you two like, move this little thing down to the left, you know, off my locker." Tristan waved a hand at her, as if telling her to go away. "Look, I need to get to my locker, and if I can't, then heads will roll." They didn't move. Kaleb and Tray walked up.   
  
"Hey Ror."  
  
"Hey Kaleb."  
  
"Oh, he's at it again huh?" asked Tray.  
  
"Yup. Okay guys, seriously, Get that nasty slut off my locker!" Tristan started to pull away, she was mad enough. But as his lips left the girl's, she grabbed his face and pulled him back to her. "God Tristan, put a leash on her or something." She said in disgust. Tray and Kaleb smirked while Tristan broke away, laughing. "You think I'm kidding?"  
  
"What was that?" The girl asked, standing up straight, and Rory walked to her now unblocked locker.   
  
"You heard me."  
  
"You're new here. You don't understand how things work. You skipped a grade, right?" Rory ignored her and kept getting her thing out of the locker, "So you're younger than us. Well listen up, I'm popular, you're not. I'm dating Tristan, the most popular guy in school, you're not." This caused her to look away from her locker, Kaleb had started laughing insanely, Tray was staring at the girl, confused, while Tristan was looking at her in surprise.   
  
"His girlfriend?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How long have you known Tristan?"  
  
"Longer than you."  
  
"Well then that's just sad, because even I know that Tristan Dugrey doesn't have girlfriends. Yesterday, he had some random blond against a locker, today it's you, tomorrow, it will be someone else. That's the way players are."  
  
The girl looked shocked, but recovered, "Well, it will never be you."  
  
Rory looked directly at Tristan, "Good, I wouldn't ever want to be one of his makeout partners, I'm not a whore like you." She slammed her locker and walked through the crowd that had gathered. The girl turned to Tristan, "Trissy, What is she talking about?"  
  
"Trissy?" Kaleb whispered to Tray.  
  
"Look," he trailed off.  
  
"Allie."  
  
"Right, Allie, I don't have girlfriends, sorry. I just can't keep a steady girl." He turned and went the same way as Rory had gone. "Rory, wait up!" He called when he saw her in the deserted East Wing.   
  
"What do you want Tristan?" When he caught up to her, he didn't know what to say.   
  
"I. You."  
  
"Very articulate."  
  
"I just, we haven't talked in two weeks."  
  
"You've given me the cold shoulder, I don't want to talk to people who ignore me for two weeks with no apparent reason."  
  
"I, we almost kissed."  
  
"So what, you stop talking to me?"  
  
"I didn't know what to say!"  
  
"Oh, please, you could have come up with something!"  
  
"Yeah well YOU didn't exactly come up to ME and make small talk, now did you?!"  
  
"YOU'D JUST TOLD ME SOMETHING YOU'D NEVER TOLD ANYONE, I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT WANT TIME!"  
  
"YEAH, WELL YOU KNOW, WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING ALONE LIKE THAT, IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA TO JUST IGNORE THEM!"  
  
"YOU, I. AUGH!" she turned on her heel and walked away.  
  
He watched her walk away, "AUGH!" He yelled, after she had left, "That girl is impossible!"  
  
FOURTH PERIOD  
  
"Okay class, today we're," the teacher was cut off by someone coming over the intercom, "Ms. Vandergriff?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You have a call in the front office, line four."  
  
"Thankyou. Class, just read your Literature books until I get back." A few seconds after the door closed behind her the room started buzzing with people talking. Rory felt Tristan's eyes on her and she slowly turned to face him. Blue met blue, the intensity of his stare caught her off guard and she turned away.   
  
Why were they being so cruel to eachother? The other day Devin had been talking about a fight he and Erin had been in and he'd said something about how you can't hide true passion, and when two strong, passionate people fought, it shook the earth. She was confused about her feelings, but she knew one thing. Her feeling toward Tristan had recently become more than platonic.   
  
"You okay Rory?" asked Josh, who was sitting beside her and in front of Tristan.   
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." she looked down at the page that her book had fallen opened to. There was a quote at the top, it read:   
  
'Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.'- Carl Jung  
  
She looked back at Tristan, she definitely liked him, but did she have it in her to try and change a player? Because, if you get involved with a player you can only get hurt. And from where their relationship was right now, you could only go up.   
  
A/N: I'm talking to my best friend on the phone and she just informed me that she put red streaks in her hair. It turned hot pink. Oh yeah, and she's blond. He he he, she's a crackhead. Review! 


	6. Wish On A Star

A/N: I am doing two shorter chapters because I wanted to end this chapter with the last scene, I think it's sweet.  
  
  
  
Rory was sitting at the counter drinking coffee that night when she heard the doorbell ring. She jumped slightly and splashed her coffee over the table, not expecting the sudden noise. She'd been on edge all day after her run-in with Tristan. Standing up slowly, her feet forced her to move towards the door. When she opened it, her stomach dropped slightly, "Um, Devin is upstairs, I'll go get him." She said, turning and starting towards the stairs.  
  
"I'm not here for Devin." a quiet voice said behind her. She froze instantly.   
  
"Then why are you here?"  
  
"For you." Her breath caught in her throat.   
  
"What?"  
  
"I need to talk to you. I mean, I've only known you for a month, but I have to be on speaking terms with you." She had to admit that Tristan looked bad. His hair was on end from him obviously running his hands through it. He was pale and looked upset. She tried to hide a small smile as her body turned to face him. He asked in a more confident voice, "Do you want to go for a walk?"  
  
"Um, sure." She said, uncertainly. Grabbing a hoodie from the coat rack, she followed him out the door. After walking in a comfortable silence for a few minuets she heard him speak.  
  
"Is that mine?" He didn't look at her but she could see a smirk on his face and she smiled,   
  
"It was yours. But now it's mine, I'm keeping it." He laughed quietly,   
  
"You know, that's called stealing."  
  
"Nope, you gave it to me."  
  
"I did not."  
  
"Too bad, I'm keeping it anyways."  
  
"Fine, keep it, I have more hoodies." She smiled and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get warmer.   
  
"So, did you want to talk?"  
  
"Yeah." He paused, unsure of what to say. "Rory, I told you what I did because, for some reason, I trust you, a lot. I'm not sure why, I just do. I mean, I've never even been able to tell Devin that. But it felt right to tell you after knowing you for almost two weeks. It scared me because I'd never felt so comfortable around someone. I barely even knew you and I told you my biggest secret. I didn't want to talk to you because I didn't know what you would say. Hell, I didn't know what I should say. I'm not used to telling people things like that. I just didn't want us to hate each other."   
  
She bit her bottom lip, smiling at his honesty and looked down at her wringing hands, "Tris, I could never hate you. In all honesty, I didn't know what to say. I have no idea what you're going through. I was too young to understand what happened between my parents. I didn't have to watch it like you did. I'm so sorry. I should have talked to you, but I just didn't know what I could say." She looked up at him and saw that he was staring at her, "I just didn't want you to be mad at me. I don't want us to hate each other either." Her hand found his and she laced their fingers together, smiling at him.   
  
Half an hour later they were at her door, facing each other, "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.   
  
"Yeah." She reached up and hugged him tightly, he wrapped his arms around her small waist, hugging her back. They broke away, and he took her hand, kissing the back of it softly, "Goodnight." He whispered.  
  
A small smile spread across her face, "Night," she whispered. One bright star was in the sky behind her. He turned her around to face it, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, "Make a wish," his quiet voice made her ear tingle. She closed her eyes, smiling, and bit her lip. He was looking at her. His face over her shoulder, a small smile playing on his face, watching her. His gaze fell to her lips and he bit his bottom lip, the smile widening as she opened her eyes.  
  
"Okay, I'm done." Her head turned to face him and she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes, "Now you make a wish." He looked up, wishing for the same thing as her, neither knowing that the other had wished the same.   
  
Rory's grandmother had always told her that wishing on a star really could make your dream come true, and she believed it. But her grandmother had also told her, if two people unknowingly make the same wish on the same night and on the same star, the wish was much stronger. But she had also always said, be careful what you wish for. 


	7. Fatal Attraction

Rory closed the door behind her, smiling like a fool as she walked back into the kitchen. She sat beside her brother, who was sitting at the table drinking a new pot of coffee, "Hey Dev."  
  
"Hey, where were you?"  
  
"I went for a walk."  
  
"Ah, loverboy came by?" he asked, a smirk in place.  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"You know Ror, for someone who's so good at deceiving people, you're a shitty liar." Her jaw dropped in mock anger.  
  
"I am offended." They fell into a normal banter.  
  
"Like I said before, bad liar." His smile dropped and he looked at her, "But seriously, did Tristan come by?"  
  
"Yeah, we went for a walk."  
  
"And you made up?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Finally!"  
  
"Oh, shutup." He stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
"Make me."  
  
"Seriously?'  
  
"Of course."  
  
"I'll give you a five second head start. Ready, GO!" He rolled his eyes, "You think I'm kidding? Three." He nodded, "Two, one." He jumped up and bolted from the room. She just laughed and followed him.   
  
LATER, RORY'S ROOM  
  
She was laying on her bed, reading 'Children of Dune' when the door opened. She looked up and smiled. "Do you ever knock?"  
  
"Nope," her brother answered. "So, what's been up with you all night?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
He smiled at his little sister, "Liar." She looked up at him, her face mirroring his with the smile.  
  
"Dev?"  
  
"Hm?" he walked in and sat beside her.  
  
"What is it about this place?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well people here are so experienced and physical."  
  
He shrugged, "I'm not sure, we've always been that way here, why?"  
  
She paused, looking him straight in the eye, "I can tell you anything in confidence, right?"  
  
"Of course you can." He was really interested now.  
  
"Okay, see I've never actually REALLY liked a guy. I mean, I just don't like guys for anything but friends. For my whole life practically all my friends have been guys. But here, there's this one guy. And I shouldn't like him, I don't want to. He's so experienced and I don't think he likes me like that, but I mean, it's just." She paused, thinking of a way to word her feelings, "Every time I'm with him I just want to be closer, I've never wanted a guy to kiss me, but when I'm around him, that's all I can think of. It's all I want.   
  
And I can't take it. I mean, damn Dev, I'm only thirteen. I shouldn't feel like this. It's seriously freaking me out." She looked at him, wondering what he would say.  
  
He bit his lip, looking at his baby sister, contemplating what to say. "Ror, Tristan is REALLY experienced."  
  
She jumped slightly, "H-how did you know I was talking about him?"  
  
He gave her a sad smile, "Every girl who comes to Whitland will fall for Tristan, it's a given. Some get to be make-out partners, a few get to be actual girlfriends, but most get nothing. And it was only a matter of time until you fell, the way you were always around each other. Besides, it's obvious from the way you two look at each other that neither of you only feel friendly to the other. Look, I just don't want you to get hurt. Tristan is a really hands-on type of guy. All his girlfriends are really physical. I mean, don't get me wrong, Tristan is a great person. He's my best friend. If I had to pick someone for you to fall for, I would want it to be him, if he wasn't such a player.   
  
With most of the girls there is only physical attraction, but with you, I know he had feelings for you by the way he looks at you. And it's never friendly or brotherly, even though he sees you as a little sister. I mean, he lost his virginity in eighth grade. He was only thirteen" He gave her a small smile, "Trust me Ror, this is a fatal attraction."  
  
She sighed, closing her eyes, "Do you really think he would hurt me? And be honest Devin, not brotherly because you know I trust you completely." Her eyes opened and it was like she was looking into a mirror when their eyes locked.  
  
He sighed, "Tristan would never hurt you intentionally, maybe as an accident, but never on purpose." She gave him a small smile.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Being honest."  
  
"Well, at least I know he likes you on some level, with most girls, he dates and makes out with them because he's bored." He gave his sister a small smile, "You surprised him."  
  
"Yes, well I am a very surprising person." Her face broke into a smile.  
  
"It's cause you're my little sister, you get it from me."  
  
"You wish."  
  
"Nope, I know."  
  
"Lies."  
  
"Never." She smiled, unable to think of anything to say, she leaned forward and hugged him.   
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem." He whispered, holding her tightly, wishing that she wasn't so perfect for the one person that could truly hurt her. Tristan Dugrey.  
  
A/N: Have any of you ever seen the remake of 'Dune' or 'Children of Dune'? I LOVE those movies! And the people who live on Dune have the most amazing blue eyes ever! Contacts, I know. But I'm still jealous! Anyway, that's what I picture Rory and Devin's eyes to look like. You know like the twins, what are their names? Lato and Ghani? I don't know how to spell it, I've never read the book, just seen the movie. Right, sorry, I love those movies, but yeah, review and tell me what you think! 


	8. Crazy For This Girl

A/N: I don't own 'Crazy For This Girl' by Evan and Jaron, 'Enigma' by Trapt, 'Dizzy' by The Goo Goo Dolls, or 'A Sorta Fairytale' by Tori Amos. It's actually very upsetting.   
  
After Tristan and Rory make up there was more sexual tension than before. He'd tried to kiss her the other day and she'd turned away. They knew they wanted to be together, and Tristan was ready to jump in head first, but she was scared.  
  
The next Friday Devin, Tristan, Rory, Erin, Josh, Katie, Tray, Natalie, and Kaleb were in the parking lot of another crowded teen club in Hartford called 'Element'. "So, let me get this straight, the five of you have a band and you're playing here tonight?" she asked the guys.  
  
"Yes," Tristan answered, slipping his arm around her bare waist.  
  
"I'm the drummer." Kaleb said.  
  
"I'm on keyboard." said Josh.  
  
"I play electric guitar." Tray.  
  
"I play bass." her brother told her.  
  
"And I sing."  
  
"And there is also a guy here that plays guitar."  
  
"I didn't know you guys had musical talent."  
  
"Aw, thanks Ror." Josh said sarcastically.  
  
"Damn, I need a girlfriend."  
  
"Where the hell did that come from, Tray?"  
  
"Well, Kaleb and Nat, You and Erin, Josh and Katie, and we all know that eventually Tristan and Rory will go out."  
  
"Hey!" The two said in unison.  
  
"Guys, we can all tell, anyway, I feel a little left out, we need another girl!" the other eight rolled their eyes as they walked into the club, "You think I'm kidding?"  
  
"No" the others said in unison. A tall fifteen year old saw them and walked over, "Hey guys."  
  
"Hey Garrett." all but Rory said.  
  
"Who's the hott girl?" Rory shot her brother a look as if saying, 'See?'  
  
"That's Rory, my little sister."  
  
"Well Rory, it 's nice meeting you."  
  
"You too." she said as he shook her hand, smiling at Tristan.  
  
"Great taste man." Tristan rolled his eyes and ignored the boy black boy's last comment. "Do you want to go in the back and get ready? Your equipment is still here from last month."  
  
"Sure." All the guys said bye to their girlfriends and followed Garrett to the other side of the room.  
  
Tristan turned to Rory, "We'll play for a while and then the DJ will take over, so save me a dance, all right?"  
  
She smiled at him, "I'll think about it."  
  
"I'm sure, bye."  
  
"Bye." After Tristan left Rory turned to the other girls, "Who's he?"  
  
"Garrett?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"He's the club owner's son." Natalie told her.  
  
"Does he go to our school?"  
  
"I wish. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met, but no, he doesn't." Katie looked disappointed.  
  
"Oh, look, the guys are up." The four girl's heads turned and Rory saw the guys walking onto the stage as the club erupted into cheers. Garrett was the other guy that played guitar.   
  
"I'm guessing they've played here before?" Rory asked.  
  
"They play about every other month, every one likes their music, and it helps that all the girls here think that their incredibly hott." Erin said, smiling. A few seconds later music came over the speakers and Tristan's voice flooded the building.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She rolls the window down   
  
And She talks over the sound  
  
Of the care that pass us by  
  
And I don't know why  
  
But she's changed my mind  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He was staring straight at her, their eyes locked.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Would you look at her  
  
She looks at me  
  
She's got me thinking   
  
About her constantly  
  
But she don't know   
  
How I feel  
  
She carries on   
  
Without a doubt   
  
I wonder if she's figured out  
  
I'm crazy for this girl  
  
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl  
  
She was the one to hold me  
  
The night the sky fell down  
  
And what was I thinking   
  
When the world didn't end  
  
Why didn't I know  
  
What I know now  
  
Would you look at her  
  
She looks at me  
  
She's got me thinking   
  
About her constantly  
  
But she don't know how I feel  
  
She carries on   
  
Without a doubt  
  
I wonder if she'll figure out  
  
I'm crazy for this girl  
  
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl  
  
Right now  
  
Face to face  
  
All my fears   
  
Pushed aside  
  
And right now  
  
I'm ready   
  
To spend   
  
The rest of my life   
  
With you  
  
Would you look at her  
  
She looks at me  
  
She's got me thinking  
  
About her constantly  
  
But she don't know how I feel  
  
She carries on   
  
Without a doubt  
  
I wonder if she's figured out   
  
I'm crazy for this girl  
  
Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl  
  
Would you look at her  
  
She looks at me  
  
She's got me thinking   
  
About her constantly  
  
But she don't know how I feel  
  
She carries on   
  
Without a doubt  
  
I wonder if she's figured out  
  
I'm crazy for this girl  
  
I'm crazy for this girl  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The whole club cheered, but Tristan's eyes stayed directly on Rory, unwavering. A few seconds later the music started again.  
  
____________________________  
  
Do we know how to get the message across  
  
We turn the lights off to find a way out  
  
No time to grasp what was lost  
  
Don't turn the light of and leave me in the dark  
  
Hey, I'm pleading, my soul is bleeding  
  
I don't want to be left alone, not when I'm right next to you  
  
What are you thinking, it's so misleading  
  
Is it not for me to know, I think it's just hard for you to show  
  
We never spoke in the words that we want  
  
We turn the lights of to find a way out  
  
We've never chosen to keep what we've got  
  
Don't turn the light off and leave me in the dark  
  
_________________________________________________  
  
Rory couldn't take it anymore, she had to break eye contact, she wasn't stupid, he was talking about them and she knew it, he's done this on purpose. His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before he turned to look at the crowd.  
  
___________________________________________  
  
Hey I'm pleading, my soul is bleeding  
  
I don't want to be left alone, not when I'm right next to you  
  
What are you thinking, it's so misleading  
  
Is it not for me to know, I think it's just hard for you to show  
  
So hard for you to show, Why is it so hard for you to show?  
  
I thought it would be nice to lie down and close my eyes  
  
It never occurred to me that I am already asleep (in your arms)  
  
Don't be the one to let it go  
  
Don't be the one to be alone  
  
Don't be the one to be alone tonight  
  
Hey, I'm pleading, my soul is bleeding  
  
I don't want to be left alone, not when I'm right next to you  
  
What are you thinking, it's so misleading  
  
I don't want to be left alone, I don't want to be left alone  
  
No one wants to be left alone  
  
_________________________________________________  
  
She stared up at him, the way he moved while singing, he really loved it, she could tell. She could also see the way some of the girls were staring at him, damn girls. She didn't know when she'd started to get jealous because girls looked at him, but she was and it annoyed her to death.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
You're cynical and beautiful  
  
You always make a scene  
  
You're monochrome delirious  
  
You're nothing that you seem  
  
I'm drowning in your vanity  
  
Your laugh is a disease  
  
You're dirty and You're sweet  
  
You know you're everything to me  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
He was staring at her again, she felt it. It wasn't a bad feeling at all, in fact it was nice, but this was Tristan, he'd tried to kiss her a few days ago. But she pulled away. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted it because she had. But she was too nervous to accept that Tristan saw her like that.  
  
He stared at her, and she knew it. She was smart. She could figure out that he had picked out these songs for a reason, and by the looks of it she had. God, she was killing him with her dancing, and he was up here, singing. This was their last song, so after this he could dance with her. The music started once more and he started to sing.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
Everything you are   
  
Falls from the sky like a star  
  
Everything you are  
  
Whatever ever you want  
  
I wanna kick at the machine  
  
That made you piss away your dreams  
  
And tear down your defenses   
  
Til there's nothing there but me  
  
You're angry when you're beautiful  
  
Your love is such a tease  
  
I'm drowning in your dizzy noise  
  
I wanna feel you scream  
  
Everything you are  
  
Falls from the sky like a star  
  
Everything you are  
  
Whatever ever you want  
  
Everything you are   
  
Falls from the sky like a star  
  
Everything you are  
  
Whatever you want  
  
Whatever you want  
  
Whatever you want  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
They put down their instruments and walked into the crowd which had erupted into cheers and clapping. The DJ came back out and started to play. Numerous girls tried to stop the guys, two they distracted while the other four kept walking. Three to their girlfriends while Tristan walked to Rory. She smiled up at him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, swinging her gently to the music. "You did that on purpose."  
  
"What? Dance with you? I know."  
  
"No, those songs."  
  
"I like those songs."  
  
"Me too, but you did do that on purpose, didn't you?"  
  
"If I say yes, then will you stop talking and dance?" He asked a smirk in place. She narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Fine, yes, I picked those songs on purpose."  
  
"I knew it! I knew it!"  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Did you listen to the songs?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And what?"  
  
He rolled his eyes, "What do you think?"  
  
"She started to panic, she couldn't say she liked him, but she couldn't flat out lie and say she didn't want to go out with him, "I'm supposed to stop talking and dance, remember?"  
  
"Cheater."  
  
She stuck her tongue out at him and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes. Tray was dancing with a short girl who had pink streaks in her hair and Garrett's partner was a few inches shorter than him with her hair braided. Rory definitely didn't miss the way at least seven girls were glaring at her because of Tristan, but she didn't mind. She was used to it by now. She felt completely safe wrapped in his arms as the last chords of the song drifted to her ears.   
  
***************************  
  
You could taste heaven perfectly  
  
Feel out the summer breeze  
  
Didn't know when we'd be back  
  
And I, I don't, didn't think   
  
We'd end up like   
  
Like this  
  
*****************************  
  
A/N: Sucky chapter, but I needed to post something, and I really like writing Tristan singing to her, I think it's sweet. Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. My friend was over all week and I didn't have time to find and type all the lyrics with her here. Yesterday we went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean with my brother and his friend and it is my new favorite move. Jack Sparrow reminds me of my brother's friend, Fes so much. It's scary. And me and Fes decided that I'm like the girl when she tries to pull the sword off the thing in the wall but it's attached. I'll stop now but seriously, if you haven't seen that movie you should go see it now. So review and I might write faster! 


	9. Under The Oak Tree

A/N: I wanted to post this chapter sooner than normal because my last chapter wasn't really that long, it was mostly lyrics and I've been dying to write this chapter since I first started this story! So right now I'm very happy. Also, I won't be updating as frequently because my school started today, which completely sucks because it's only the FOURTH! Have any of you heard about the new movie called 'Grind'? About skateboarders? My best friend, the girl with pink hair, told me that she saw a preview for it. Just wondering if you'd heard of it. Oh, and she had to dye her hair brown to cover up the red. He he he he, she hates it but I think it's funny.  
  
And this new name thing is really annoying me. I'm not complaining or anything (I swear!) but now I'm Gnome1! *grumble grumble* evil person who took me name.  
  
Anyway, smile1 (it happened to you too!) Pirates of the Caribbean was really good. And yes, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp are very cute. Johnny Depp was also very funny.  
  
The next day Rory was sitting on the swing on the front porch, writing in a notebook when she heard wheels coming down the walk. She raised her head and saw Tristan coming towards her on his skateboard. She looked back down at her paper. He jumped the stairs and landed ten feet in front of her. He stepped off his board and walked to her, sitting sideways so that he was facing her. "Hey."  
  
She didn't look up, "Hey, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I wasn't doing anything and I figured I'd come visit my favorite siblings."  
  
"Oh, and who's that?"  
  
"You and Dev."  
  
"Of course, me and Dev are your favorite siblings?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"We're not even related to you."  
  
"Thank God considering I tried to kiss you." She smiled, still looking at her lap, "Anyway, you two are siblings. Therefore, you are my favorite siblings."   
  
"Sure, I'll act like I understood that." He smiled, staring at the side of her face and they sat in a comfortable silence for a few minuets before Tristan spoke.  
  
"I'm bored."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Entertain me."  
  
"Never."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No, go talk to Devin, you came here to see him too, right?"  
  
"Technically yes."  
  
"What do you mean 'technically'?"  
  
"I came to see him too, but I came just to annoy you mostly."  
  
"I'm touched."  
  
"You should be." They sat in silence for a little while longer before He spoke, "Hey, Ror?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What did you wish for?"  
  
She looked up in surprise, "What?"  
  
"That night I came by and showed you the star, what did you wish for?"  
  
She closed the notebook and threw casually to the ground, before pulling her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees. "What did you wish for?"  
  
"I asked you first."  
  
"I asked you second."  
  
He looked at her strangely, "That's the point, I asked first, you asked second, so you tell me."  
  
"Who told you that?"  
  
"Everyone knows that."  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"Yes, really." He smiled at her, something he'd been doing more frequently since they made up.   
  
She turned to face him, keeping a poker face the whole time. "You really want to know?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She looked around, "Can you keep a secret?"  
  
"Yes." As she leaned in closer he did too.  
  
"So can I."  
  
"That's cold Mary." He said in a mock-hurt voice as she tilted her head and smiled innocently. "Seriously, what did you wish for?" he asked quietly.  
  
Her smile faded, "You'll just have to wait."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"To see if I can tell you, I'm still waiting for it to happen." She stood up and opened the door.  
  
"Oh, I see, you're leaving me?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"What ever, I see how it is."  
  
She smiled, "Bye Tristan, I'll see you on Monday."  
  
He stood up and walked to her slowly. He leaned down, as if he would kiss her, but turned his head a few inches from her face and instead whispered into her ear, "Can't wait", he pulled away, she smiled slowly, electricity shooting through her at the contact. He smiled as she shut the door. He sat there for a few moments before looking around and seeing that Rory had left her book on the floor. He picked it up gently and turned to the page she had been righting on. It was filled with expertly drawn stars and small fairies, in the middle it said, 'Wish Upon a Star'. In the top right corner it said 'Rory' and in the top left corner is said 'Tristan' all in neat, curvy letters. He looked at the page strangely, wish upon a star? And why was one of their names in each corner? He asked himself. But, not wanting to read into it too much and set himself up for disappointment, he closed the book and set it down on the porch before jumping back on his board and riding back to his house, thoughts of Rory filling his head.   
  
Ten minuets later Rory was in her room, blasting New Found Glory, thinking of Tristan when she remembered her notebook. Jumping from her bed she sprinted down the stairs and threw the door opened, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was closed, laying right where she'd left it. If Tristan had seen that page and understood it, she would never be able to look at him again.  
  
Devin heard the door open and walked out, he was surprised to see his sister clutching a notebook tightly. "Hey Ror."  
  
She smiled at her brother, "Hey Dev."   
  
"And why are you looking so happy?"  
  
"No reason."  
  
"Did Tristan come by?"  
  
"What?!" she asked in surprise, how did he know?  
  
"Yup, I knew it, when will you two finally give up this little charade and get together?" he turned and walked into the house, leaving her to think over what he's said, after a few seconds she ran and tackled him from behind, bringing him down to the floor. She pinned him to the ground and sat over him.  
  
"Now this was uncalled for."  
  
"That little comment was uncalled for, mister."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Would I lie to you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
In one sweeping movement, he picked her up and walked to the indoor pool, holding her over it. "You wouldn't."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Watch me." And he let go, causing her to land ungracefully in the water, laughing.  
  
She came up and spit water from her mouth in an arc, "Devin Hayden, when I'm dry I will kick your ass."  
  
"That's why I'm about to call Garrett and tell him my current situation."  
  
"Why Garrett?"  
  
"you know where the other four guys live." He ran from the pool room and she pulled herself out, smiling at his back.  
  
MONDAY, WHITLAND  
  
Rory was sitting in last period, reading, when she felt someone brush past her and saw a not on her desk. Looking around, she saw that numerous people were walking around and it would be hard to find who'd left it. Setting her book down slowly, she picked up the paper and unfolded it. It read:  
  
Mary-  
  
Meet me out at the bench under the oak tree in the back after school. I want to tell you something.  
  
Tristan. She read over the note a few times before sliding it into her book, 'Witch Child', and dropping that into her bag. She stood up and walked over to where Katie and Kaleb were arguing. "No, it wasn't!"  
  
"Yes, it was!"  
  
"No, it wasn't!"  
  
"Yes, it was and you know it!" They saw her stop by them.  
  
"Rory, explain to this idiot," she jerked her head towards Kaleb, "That in Monty Python, It's Robin that goes to the three headed guy and it's Lancelot who goes to save the gay swamp- prince guy and not the other way around." The two looked at her expectantly.   
  
She opened her mouth, trying to remember, but when she couldn't she just snapped her mouth shut, "I stay neutral." They turned back to each other.  
  
"You're wrong."  
  
"Face it Kate, I'm right and you know it. Admit it and I won't gloat."  
  
"Even if you were right, and I did admit it, I know that you would gloat like hell."  
  
He paused, thinking over that for a second, "Yeah, I guess you're right, huh?" Katie rolled her eyes and the bell rang. Rory grabbed her bag and walked straight to the huge oak out back. But she walked slowly, her nerves setting in. Tristan had been in her last period, but he hadn't spoken to her all day. What did he want to tell her? Barely anyone went in the back after school, it was isolated. What did he want to tell her that he couldn't say it with other people around? Why did it have to be that private?  
  
By the time she was done asking herself questions, the bench was in view. And he was already leaning against the large trunk of the huge tree. She took a steadying breath, to calm her nerves and clear her head of thoughts of running away. And why the hell was she so nervous to talk to Tristan? She walked over and stood beside him, smiling. "Hey."  
  
"Hey Mary." Why was he so nervous? It was just Rory, his best friend, the little sister he'd never had, well, she was at first. But now she was so much more.  
  
He was fidgeting, she'd never seen him act like this. She turned to him after an awkward silence. "So, you um, you wanted to tell me something?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, right, I did." He paused, looking into her clear blue eyes, "I wanted to tell you what I wished for that night." She perked up and looked at him with surprised eyes.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
He leaned slowly forward, the same way he had on Saturday when he whispered into her ear. And she thought that he was about to do the same again, but instead of going to the side, he quickly leaned farther in, kissing her gently. Rory was caught off guard and stood still in shock. Tristan, who thought she was standing frozen in disgust, quickly pulled away, muttering an apology. Rory recovered and put a hand on either side of his face and brought him lips crushing back to hers in a hard kiss.   
  
He wrapped his arms around her waist and her hands slid from his face to link together at the back of his neck. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, inviting him in. He knew she wasn't very experienced and he had to be careful and slow with her and all that but, God, where did she learn to do that? he asked himself as she sucked on his tongue gently, causing him to turn so that she was the one between him and the tree trunk.  
  
Shit, what have I gotten myself into? She asked herself. Everyone had told her that she and Tristan would date, but they had also said to be careful and not fall too hard. Because she would only get hurt being involved with the school player. But now, with him kissing her like this, every rational thought flew out of her head, forgotten and unmissed at the moment. She was young, too young to feel like this. It wasn't like she didn't know that, she would be the first to admit it. But all that mattered right now was Tristan, her, and the tree supporting her because she knew very well that her legs would give out if not for the solid trunk.   
  
They slowly broke the kiss, needing that annoying vital thing called oxygen. He rested his forehead on hers, all traces of awkwardness vanished long ago. His heavy breathing causing him to catch his breath before he could speak. She bit her lip, waiting for him to say something. "See, that's what I want."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't want girlfriends that I don't feel anything for, just have a slight chemistry with. I want a girl like you. A girl who I can respect and at the same time do that. Someone that makes me feel fire when ever we touch." She looked up at him, "I want a girlfriend." Their eyes were burning together, neither able to break the trance, the intense gaze, staring right through eachother, "Will you help me?"  
  
She smiled and nodded, "Always." His smile matched hers and he picked her up, spinning her around. She laughed loudly as he put her down and leaned in again, meeting her lips in a sweet kiss. Their first kiss as a couple. But neither knew in the least what they were getting them selves into.  
  
A/N: I think that this is much better than my last chapter. What about you guys? Review and tell me. Ciao- Gnome1 (evil 1)! 


	10. No Kissing In The Halls

A/N: Ok, so I lied. Oh, well. I'm bored. I've read all the updated stories I wanted to. Plus I'm really exited because one of my best friends is back from alternative school. He was there for ten months. Also, did you guys think my story was over? Because it isn't (obviously). But trust me it's far from over. *evil cackle*  
  
After Rory got home that day she ran to her room and jumped onto her bed, curling up in a ball and pulling the covers around her tightly. A huge smile plastered on her face. Tristan. The one word rang through her head. Tristan. The thought alone caused joy to spread like wild fire. She had a boyfriend. She had a boyfriend. It sounded so great in her head. Tristan. Boyfriend. A small scream escaped her lips, caused by her adrenaline.  
  
Devin was laying on his bed, doing homework when the next door slammed and a few seconds later a small squeal came through the wall. Rory was squealing? This had to be good. Standing up, he dropped the text book on the floor and walked from his room. Pushing her door open, he saw that his sister was in a tight ball, laying on the bed. "Okay, do you care to explain why you are laying in a ball and screaming for no apparent reason?"  
  
She looked at her brother, "Are you even capable of knocking?"  
  
"Wouldn't know, I've never tried."  
  
"And why am I not surprised?"  
  
"You tell me." She narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"You invader of privacy."  
  
He ignored her, "Why were you screaming?"  
  
"I don't want to tell you."  
  
"Yes you do."  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"You know you do."   
  
"I think not."  
  
"I think so."  
  
"You do that."  
  
"Coffee addict."  
  
"You are too."  
  
"Not nearly as much as you."  
  
"Bite me."  
  
"I'll leave that to Tristan." A huge smile spread across the girl's face and she didn't say anything. Her brother, who had expected some biting comeback was shocked at seeing his sister's face. "Uh, Ror, what is that look?"  
  
"Tristan." She said softly.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Nothing." She said quickly, knowing perfectly well that within a few minuets her brother would know what had happened.   
  
"Liar."  
  
"Nothing happened."  
  
"Why did you come home late?"  
  
She'd never lied to her brother and she wasn't about to start. "I was talking to someone."  
  
"Tristan?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Nothing." He grabbed her face and brought it inched from his, looking at her closely.  
  
He released her after a few seconds and said smugly, "Your lips are red. And the swelling is going down, but they're still bigger than normal." She put a hand over her mouth and turned to the mirror across the room, removing her hand. Upon seeing her reflection, she smiled and licked her lips, remembering the taste of Tristan's. Devin gasped, "You made out with Tristan!" He screamed.  
  
"Well, I don't see where it's so wrong to make out with your boyfriend." His jaw dropped to the floor, boyfriend?  
  
"Yeah, and who's that?"  
  
"Tristan, you dumbass." She said, smiling at her brother.  
  
He laughed, "I never thought you two would get together." And now that they were, it scared the hell out of him. The school player and his little sister.   
  
She smiled, "Well, we did, now go away, I have homework."  
  
He stood up and smiled at her, "Later."  
  
"Bye." She said as he closed the door behind him. Rory and Tristan. A match made in heaven. Or hell, take your pick. On one hand, they were perfect for each other. Both cared for the other and both were intense, giving them a raw, true relationship. On the other hand, being perfect for each other can be your first mistake. For one, they cared about each other so much. What was that saying? You only hurt the one you love. Making both vulnerable to the other. They were strong and passionate. Intense, making their wills collide to the point of causing even a bystander to be broken if one hurt the other.   
  
Yes, like he'd said before, a fatal attraction. But, he also knew that this was what both needed. Rory could change Tristan. He knew it. The boy had never chased a girl until he met Lorelai Leigh Hayden. Never. And Tristan could be the one to make Rory accept the fact that guys could look at her and care for her romantically. After the incident at her old school with an ex-boyfriend, Marco, she thought that no guy saw her like that. Yes, both needed the other. And that thought made him smile. But with his mid wondering, the smile fell as something else popped into his head, unwelcome and unwanted.   
  
What if they went out for a while and had a messy breakup, what if they couldn't stand the sight of each other? Where would that leave him?  
  
NEXT DAY, SCHOOL  
  
Rory took a steadying breath. Her first day with her and Tristan as a couple. Girls would hate her even more and all would be catty exept for Erin, Katie, and Natalie. She shook her head, clearing it.   
  
Devin noticed how quiet she was being and he turned to her, "Ror, don't worry. It's just a school."  
  
"Oh, no. This isn't 'just a school'. This is hell, cleverly disguised as a school. Hell, with all it's evil creatures dead set on making me miserably just because I've taken Lucifer himself hostage." She told him, deadly serious.  
  
He looked at her strangely, "Is that is your twisted way to say that this school is evil and all the girls will hate you because you're dating Tristan?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, see, you'll get a lot more attention from the guys too because now that you are dating the most popular Freshman and you're completely off limits, not like before when you were only friends with him."  
  
"Gee, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better!" Her voice was close to frantic.  
  
"But don't worry!" He said quickly, knowing how nervous attention from guys made her, "If any girls touch you then trust me, the other three toughest most badass girls in ninth grade will be make her wish she was dead. And if a guy comes near you, he won't even have time to say anything because me, Josh, Tray, Kaleb, and especially Tristan will kick his ass. And after we tell Garrett, he will force us to show him where the kid lives so that he can get his ass whipped again."  
  
She smiled at her brother, "Is that your twisted way of telling me that I now have nine body guards?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She turned to the huge stone building, "Let's go then."  
  
"Let's go." They walked into the school and towards Rory's locker. Tristan was leaning against her locker, talking to Erin. Before they got there, Erin walked away and another girl walked over, obviously wanting to flirt with him. It was the red head from a few weeks ago. Rory tensed up and Devin whispered to her, "Just wait." Tristan said something to the tall girl and she turned, walking away with a scowl on her face. Rory smiled and relaxed. Her brother turned to her, "See, he may be a player, but he's not stupid."  
  
Tristan smiled when he saw his best friend and his girlfriend. Girlfriend. It sounded so good. Especially when that girl was Rory Hayden. "Hey Dev." Devin nodded and smirked. Tristan wrapped an arm around Rory's waist and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Hey."  
  
She smiled, "Hey."  
  
"Ow, ow, ow, my eyes, brother present here!"   
  
"Then go find Erin." Rory told him, as if he was stupid.  
  
"Fine, I will!" He said in a mock hurt voice and walked away in a huff.  
  
Rory turned to open her locker, but it wouldn't budge. She turned to Tristan, "Could you um, you know?" She asked, motioning to the locker.   
  
He smirked, "Mary, Mary, Mary, what would you do without me?"  
  
"Well, I would be called by my name, not Mary,"  
  
"But it's so boring to just be called one name!"  
  
"I could sleep later on the weekends, without anyone calling me at seven on a Saturday morning,"  
  
"It was only once! And I was bored!"  
  
She ignored him and kept counting on her fingers, "I wouldn't have to listen to evil Korn,"  
  
"I like Korn."  
  
"I would have never gotten a note telling me to go to a completely isolated place with another person. It could have been a stalker."  
  
"I would have protected you."  
  
"If it was a stalker then you wouldn't have been there."  
  
"I'm amazing." She rolled her eyes and pulled books out of her now open locker. He stared at the side of her face while she did. Feeling Tristan's gaze on her, she smiled and turned her head, "What?" he just shook his head, smiling. She turned back to her locker and her hair fell from behind the ear it was tucked under, creating a sheet of brown and blue, hiding her face. Tristan reached forward and tucked it back behind her ear so he could see her face. She closed the locker and turned to him.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yup." He wrapped an arm around her waist and they walked down the hall together. People were looking at them strangely. True, it was common to see Tristan Dugrey and Rory Hayden walking together, his arm around her waist. Ever one was used to it by now, but something was different. They stopped in front of her homeroom, "So I'll see you in second period?"  
  
"Well, considering we have the same class, I would say so."  
  
"Funny."  
  
"I know."  
  
He leaned down and kissed her slowly, his hands slipped behind her neck and then slid to her waist, "Mister Dugrey! Miss Hayden!" a loud voice said beside them, they sprang apart and Rory started to blush but had a small smirk in place, Tristan just smirked. The headmaster looked very annoyed, "You know better than this. You both have detention on Wednesday for public displays of affection!"  
  
They looked from the floor to each other and back to their shoes, the temptation to laugh was overwhelming as the large man went on to explain why kissing in public was rude and unacceptable. When he was done he handed both a detention slip and walked away, muttering about how children would be the death of him. Rory and Tristan looked at each other and burst into laughter.   
  
After they recovered Tristan turned to her and kissed her forehead gently, "Bye Mary."  
  
"Later Bible Boy." She smiled widely as he walked away. Stepping into the class she saw that all eyes were on her. Girls were glaring, boys were looking on with new interest, the teacher looked confused at why the principle had just been yelling at Rory Hayden for kissing in the hall, and Devin, Josh, Nat, and Tray were all sitting in a next to and in front of each other, having similar smirks. Rory stuck her tongue out and pulled it back in quickly. The class jumped slightly and turned away. She walked over to her friends, smiling.  
  
"Your first day as a couple and you're already getting yelled at for PDA?"  
  
"Isn't it funny when he yells for kissing? Did that vein in his neck pop out three feet? It did when he yelled at me and Katie."  
  
"You and Tris finally got together?"  
  
"Good one, Hayden."  
  
"Thanks Tray." The teacher started to lecture them about the values of punctuality and Rory relaxed in her chair, ignoring the woman and thought of her boyfriend. She felt something warm on her neck and looked down. There was a silver chain on her neck that wasn't hers. Racking her brain, she tried to figure out where it had come from, while running her fingers over it gingerly. It hit her, Tristan. His hands had gone behind her neck before going to her waist. He must have put this around her neck.   
  
She smiled to herself, it surprised her that he would do that simple yet sweet gesture. He'd never given one of his girlfriends before her a necklace, she could tell you that right now. And no boy before had ever done this kind of thing for her. Something was different about this relationship, she could tell. Something good.  
  
A/N: Review and tell me your ideas for the next chapter. I'm kind of getting writer's block. 


	11. Michelle

Rory and her brother were walking into school a few weeks later, when Devin stopped suddenly. "What?"  
  
"What is today's date?"  
  
"Um, the twenty first, I think."  
  
"And it's January, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"It's Tristan's birthday."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"He's fifteen?"  
  
"He can drive."  
  
"With an adult."  
  
"Please, like he's going to listen to that!"  
  
"True." She agreed as they ended up at her locker to see none other than Tristan there. "Hey."  
  
"Hey." She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck and pulled him down to crush his lips to hers forcefully. Tristan was caught off guard, but pleased. His arms went around her waist and he backed the slim girl into the lockers.   
  
A few minuets later, Rory pulled away, breathless. "Happy birthday."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Yeah, you can finally drive, thank god." Devin said to him.  
  
"Well, technically I can't actually drive for another year."  
  
"You can pass for sixteen."  
  
"And even if I can't, as long as the cop is a woman, we'll be fine."  
  
"Cocky much?" Rory asked.  
  
"Me? Cocky? I am offended."  
  
Kaleb walked over as the late bell rang, "Hey guys, happy birthday Tris."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Mr. Hobbes, the assistant principle appeared out of no where, "Shouldn't you four be in class?" his raspy voiced caused all of them to jump in shock. He was no taller than most of the freshmen and had a weird way of popping up suddenly, giving off the feeling that you were always being watched.  
  
"Um, well, we were just. We were at Rory's locker and then we."  
  
"That will be enough, Mr. Hayden. You should all get to class." the old man bent over and let out a hacking cough for almost a minuet. After he recovered himself, the four were looking at him with different expressions. Rory looked concerned, Tristan was staring at him with a mix of confusion and shock, Kaleb looked amused, and Devin's eye brows were almost lost in his hair, wondering if the man would begin breathing again. He looked at each student before yelling, "NOW!" They scattered instantly.   
  
FOURTH PERIOD  
  
"Okay class, for the next five weeks we will be working on a group project. The groups will either debate your topic for the class or put on a play from one of the scenes from your topic. We will be doing Romeo and Juliet. With debating, you will choose which points to represent. Acting, I will give you a scene to do. You will receive very few directions from me on this, it will definitely be a group effort to see how you all work together.   
  
The groups are," the class groaned, having hoped to choose their own partners, the teacher smiled a horrible sweet smile, "Oh, don't be upset now. You didn't really think I would let you choose your own groups, did you?" a general mumble came from the class and she smiled, "Group one: Kaleb Minert, Noah Strey, Katie Johnson, Tray Stephens, and Samantha Norris. Group two: Tristan Dugrey, Natalie Duncan, Tyler Christensen, Joseph Taylor, and Allie Snow." Rory's jaw dropped and Tristan groaned, Allie? Why Allie? Although she seemed very pleased with herself, winking at Tristan. He looked at his girlfriend and she shrugged.  
  
"Group three: Lorelai Hayden, Christopher Osborn, Joshuah Hanks, Erin Scott, and Zachary Jackson." It was Tristan's turn to have his jaw drop. Zack Jackson? That guy had always hated him. Since fifth grade, everything that Tristan had, he needed too. It was a competition to him, and Tristan had recently heard that Zack was eyeing Rory.   
  
"Group Four: Devin Hayden, Lani Gibson, Brittany Packer, Drew Hayes, and tomorrow a new student will be joining our school, he will be in your group. Now, one person from each group has a topic under his or her chair. Everyone look." Rory felt under her chair and there was nothing. Turning to Erin, she saw the girl holding a thin sheet of paper that said, 'Romeo and Juliet, Debate.' and that was all. Turning to Tristan, she saw him looking at a similar sheet in horror.  
  
"What's wrong?" He handed her the paper without saying a word, and she saw why he looked like that. It read 'Romeo and Juliet, Acting, Death Scene.' Her face paled, "Tristan, out of your whole group, you're the only guy who can act."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"And Allie and Natalie are the only girls."  
  
"I know. And seeing as there's no way in hell that I'm about to kiss Natalie, that leaves....." he trailed off, wondering what Rory would do.  
  
"Allie Snow."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah." Allie walked over to Tristan and sat on his desk, crossing her legs and making sure her skirt slid up six inches as she did.  
  
"Hey Tris. I guess we'll be Romeo and Juliet, seeing as we're the only ones in the group who can act." she smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at Rory.  
  
"Um, yeah, right. Allie, could you, you know, get off my desk?"  
  
She looked at him and batted her eyes, "Anything for you Tris. Meet me after school so we can decide which scene to do."  
  
"Sorry, I have plans right after school."  
  
"Well then we can meet after that."  
  
"Plans that will go very late."  
  
"Trust me, how late it is doesn't matter."  
  
"VERY late."  
  
"I'll be up, waiting for your call."  
  
"Look whore, he'll be gone all night okay? By the time he gets in, you'll be in bed, trust me! So why don't you just walk your little Abercrombie ass back over there and leave MY boyfriend the hell alone?!"  
  
Allie looked like she'd been slapped in the face, she'd hit on plenty of taken guys, but no one's girlfriend had ever yelled at her like that, "W-whatever. I'll see you later Tris." she stood up and walked away as fast as her legs would go.  
  
Tristan turned to Rory and smirked, "A little jealous, are we?"  
  
"No."  
  
"It's okay, I like the jealous Rory, very hott."  
  
"Shut up Tristan."  
  
"Demanding, I like it." She rolled her eyes and turned away, "Hey, that's not very nice, Mary."   
  
She ignored him and kept talking to Erin. After a little while, Zack walked up, "So, Rory, we're in the same group, huh?"  
  
"Um, yeah, I guess." he opened his mouth to say something else, but the bell rang and he didn't get a chance.   
  
Rory packed up her things and walked out the door, smiling as she felt Tristan's arm wrap around her waist. After they got to her locker, Tristan kissed her lightly, "I have to go to my locker, but I'll see you in seventh."  
  
"Okay, bye." a small smile played on her face as she watched him walk away. Once she couldn't see him any longer, she felt a hand skim over her waist and felt as if a cold knife shot down her spine. Someone stood on the right, facing her.  
  
"Hey, we didn't finish talking in there." Zack. He was one of the guys who'd been watching her the past few weeks since Tristan had asked her out. "So, I was thinking, maybe we could get together sometime."  
  
She looked at him in annoyance, "I have a boyfriend, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I do. But, no, just for the project, nothing personal. But don't worry, if you're worried he might get mad and do something he'd regret, you don't have to tell him."  
  
"Um, how about hell no? I'm not worried he'd do something he'd regret. And I don't want to 'meet' with you unless it's the whole group, you jackass." she turned to walk away, but he held her wrist gently.  
  
"No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."  
  
"Yes you did, if you didn't then you wouldn't have said that."  
  
"That's how Tristan acts, isn't it? I'm just trying to figure out how how did it."  
  
"Did what?"  
  
"Get a girl like you." he ran a hand through her hair gently.  
  
She pulled back as if burned, "Who the hell do you think you are?"  
  
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"  
  
"Uh, yeah! Just a little!"  
  
"I'm sorry, congratulations."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, I'm happy for you two. I think you may be able to change him." he smiled at her slightly, "Of course, we also thought that Michelle could."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, as you know, Tristan is a player."  
  
"Was a player."  
  
He laughed slightly, "Was a player. Until Michelle. He was so in love with her. He chased her for about three months. A little longer than he chased you. You and Michelle do look similar. Anyway, she finally gave in and agreed on a date, they were so happy together. So in love, you could see it. Making out in the halls, saying how much they loved each other, he always put his arm around her waist, it was really sweet, until they hit a rocky patch, that is. He dropped her and the next day he had a new whore. She moved away a week later. Rumor had it that Tristan got what he wanted. He got her and then was done, bored. I heard she moved because that weren't careful and she was pregnant. But of course, that was just gossip." His fake smile dropped, seeing the hurt look on Rory's face, " Oh, did he not tell you? She only left two months before you came." Rory turned, looking for a bathroom, she felt sick. "Of course, maybe you will be the one to change him. But anyway, I have to go, see you later Ror." and Zack walked away, leaving her alone in the deserted hall.  
  
A/N: I finally got up another chapter. Yay! So, review, because I know exactly where I want this to go now and how to write it. Lata darlings. Muah. 


	12. New and Unreal Feelings

The next day Rory was at her locker, getting out her books and dreading when Tristan would come up to her. She'd ignored him since fourth period yesterday and hadn't talked to him when he called last night. She saw him walking towards her on the right, but turning left she saw someone walk in the door. Doing a double take, she saw Garrett. Clad in Whitland uniform. A wide smile spread across her face, despite the pit in her stomach. "Garrett!" his head snapped up and he smiled.  
  
"Rory." She ran up and hugged him tightly.   
  
"Hey, why didn't you tell me you were starting here?"  
  
"I didn't know until two days ago."  
  
"Well I'm glad you're here. We never see you. Oh, Katie will be glad you're here too." He smirked.  
  
"Ror, all girls will be happy now that the love doctor is here!"  
  
She laughed, "There's Katie, go talk to her, she'll scream."  
  
"K, later Rory."  
  
She turned and walked to her locker, hearing Katie squeal right on time. Rory smirked to herself, but it fell as Tristan leaned on the locker next to hers.   
  
"Hey."   
  
"Hey." she didn't look at him, just stared forward at the opened locker door.  
  
"Mary." he touched her arm gently.  
  
Her head snapped up, "W-what? Oh, hi Tristan." Devin, Tray, Josh, Kaleb, and Garrett had been walking over, but stopped, seeing the tension between the two.  
  
"Rory, what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine."  
  
"No, you're not."  
  
"What do you mean, why wouldn't I be fine?"  
  
"Ror, you haven't talked to me, or even noted my existence since fourth period yesterday. Something's bothering you, so what is it?"  
  
"Nothing Tristan, I'm fine."  
  
"Well then why won't you talk to me?"  
  
"I'm talking to you right now."  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"No Tristan, obviously I don't!"  
  
"Rory, please tell me what's wrong, you haven't been yourself lately!"  
  
"Tristan, I'm fine! God, I swear! I don't need you to fix everything!" She turned and walked away, leaving him standing there.  
  
"What the hell did I do?" he called to her down the corridor while the tardy bell rang and the halls cleared, she ignored him and kept walking. His friends all came to him and watched Rory's back as she walked away from her boyfriend. He shook his head and looked at them, silently asking if they knew what was wrong with her. They all shrugged. Zack walked up and leaned on the locker behind Tristan.  
  
"What did you say to her, Dugrey?"  
  
Tristan turned to face one of the people he hated more than anything, and it clicked, Zack, he'd been talking to Rory in fourth period, he had to have said something to her. He grabbed Zack by the collar and slammed him into the locker. "The real question is, what did you say?" The other five closed in around them like a shield.   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Tristan slammed him into the locker again, "What did you say to her Jackson?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Tristan looked at the ground and laughed bitterly, "Jackson, I'm going to ask you this one more time, what the hell did you say to my girlfriend?"  
  
"And if I don't tell you?"  
  
"Look Jackson, I can't stand you on a good day, and right now, I'm really pissed, so I am not in the mood for your smart ass attitude, okay?"  
  
"Well, your highness, why don't you go ask your girlfriend what I said?"  
  
"I will, but it would be easier to get it out of you first."  
  
"And if I don't tell you?"   
  
"Then the five guys standing around us will destroy you while I go after Rory. Now, if you have an answer that won't piss me off too much, they might not kill you, so, what did you tell her?"  
  
"Nothing everyone doesn't know."  
  
"And what is that?"  
  
"The truth."  
  
"You know Jackson, I'm getting really tired of this guessing game," he slammed the boy into the locker again, "What did you say to her?!"  
  
"I told that little whore the truth she needs to know to date your ass." Devin and Kaleb jerked forward, it took the other three boys just to hold them back. Garrett grabbed Devin's arms and pinned them to his back, Josh did the same to Kaleb, and Tray put a hand on each of their chests, trying to push them back.  
  
Tristan nodded and slammed him once again, harder than anytime before, "SHIT! I have a spine in there, you know!"  
  
"And you're lucky it isn't broken after what you just said. Now, I'll ask ONE more time. What the hell did you say to her?"  
  
"The truth, I already said that!"  
  
"The truth about what!?" he screamed.  
  
Zack smirked, "Michelle."  
  
Tristan froze, his eyes wide, the other five looked at each other nervously, "Come again?"  
  
"I told your girlfriend about Michelle Paris."  
  
Tristan slammed him into the locker harder than before, "SHIT!" he yelled, watching Zack crumple into a ball. Tristan put his forehead in his hands.  
  
Zack looked up, laughing coldly, his nose bleeding, "You better go find her, she's really hurt right now."  
  
"You shut the fuck up!" Devin's brotherly protection was in overdrive. The only reason he wasn't beating the shit out of Zack Jackson was because two people were holding him back.  
  
"You're scared to talk to her, scared that she'll dump your ass because now she knows what you did to your ex-girlfriend. Face it Dugrey, I won this one."  
  
Tristan walked to his friends, "I have to find her. I don't care what you do to him," he eyed Zack, "Just make sure it hurts." and he ran out the front door, searching for Rory.  
  
Devin and Kaleb were released. The two walked over to Zack and helped him up. Kaleb brushed the dirt off his shoulder and the boys on either side of the terrified Zack gave him fake smiles. Devin put a hand on his shoulder, "You know Jackson, I should forgive you for calling my baby sister that. I should also forgive you for doing that to her and my best friend." relief washed over the boy's scared face, that is until Devin's fist flew to his face. There was a sickening 'crunch' and he crumpled again, "Too bad I don't."   
  
OUTSIDE  
  
He ran outside and spotted her immediately. She was walking slowly, halfway across the parking lot. "Rory!" he called, she turned and, realizing who it was, walked faster. "Rory! No! I need to talk to you!" After hearing him say that, she went into a full sprint, causing him to run after her as fast as he could. Tristan was faster than her, so after a little while, he caught up to her. Tristan grabbed her wrist and held her there.  
  
"Let me go!"  
  
"Rory, no."  
  
"Tristan, I know the story, okay! I don't want to feel like an even bigger idiot for falling for you, just let me go so I can be humiliated in peace!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're dating me because I look like your ex-girlfriend. I know okay."  
  
He dropped her hand, "Zack told you that."  
  
"Why does it matter who told me?" she turned to walk away.  
  
"It matters that Zack told you, he likes you and he said it so that you'd break up with me."   
  
She turned back around, "I'm listening."  
  
"Fine, but Rory?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't hate me for not telling you before."  
  
"The question is, why didn't you?"  
  
"I didn't think Michelle was that big of a deal."  
  
"Fine, I won't hate you, whatever."  
  
"Fine. Michelle Paris is one of my ex-girlfriends. It's true that you two do look a little similar. Brown hair, but different shades. She had brown eyes, not blue. And you two act completely different. After a few months she agreed to be my girlfriend. I didn't play her, I actually did care. We were the 'Golden Couple'. And we were happy for a few months, four, I think. People said we were 'in love'. But we hit a brick wall in the relationship so we broke up. She moved away a few weeks later."  
  
She looked Tristan over, studying him, "That's it?"  
  
"That's it."  
  
"Did you sleep with her?"  
  
"No, not her."  
  
"What was the brick wall?'  
  
"Let's just say there was a subject we didn't see eye to eye on."  
  
"Did you really love her?'  
  
"No."  
  
"But you said you did?"  
  
"No, she said she loved me, but I couldn't say it back. I wouldn't have meant it. That was what we didn't agree on. When I didn't say I love you back, she got mad and slept with one of my friends. We were at a party and she was drunk when she said it. Everyone knew she lost her virginity there, but it wasn't to me, like ever one thinks. They're just guessing it was me, they're not sure. And no, she wasn't pregnant. Her father was transferred to Atlanta."  
  
"So then, what every one in this school thinks they know is really a lie?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why didn't you ever fix the rumor?"  
  
"What good would it have done? People will believe what they want to and we can't change their opinion, no matter what we say."   
  
Rory tilted her head, "Why did you come after me?"  
  
"I had to."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I had to know what was wrong with you. I mean Rory, you have to understand, this whole boyfriend thing is new to me. I'm not the perfect boyfriend. I've never cared about a girl like I care about you, and I don't want to loose you like other people our age do. Honestly, what I feel for you scares me. I've felt lust before, trust me, I have. But never this. What I feel for you is completely unreal and new."  
  
"And what do you feel?"  
  
He leaned forward, so did she. Inches from her mouth he whispered, "I'm not sure, but I think I'm falling in love."  
  
She stopped, she'd thought he was going to say that and she had prepared herself, but hearing it was a different story. Rory looked up at him, "What?"  
  
"I'm falling in love with you."  
  
He leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet and gentle kiss. After only a few moments he broke away and whispered, "I love you, Loreai Leigh Hayden."  
  
She took his lips in hers and kissed him slowly, wrapping hr arms around his neck and pulling him closer as his arms found her hips. She broke away for breath, staying in his embrace. After a second, she leaned back in and right before their lips met she whispered, "I love you too, Tristan Janlen Dugrey."  
  
A/N: Aww, a sweet ending, *tear* I mean ending for this chapter, of course. My story isn't over. Not even close. Muah ha ha. Review my little darlings, and I'll give you coffee! 


	13. Allie's Revenge

A/N: I've gotten a lot of reviews saying how thirteen is too young to be in love. I agree that it's not common. I'm thirteen and there aren't many guys I've even liked like that. I think it's possible though, I have friends that say they love each other, I wouldn't know. Oh, and the coffee was just a bribe, I can't really give you any. Sorry. And in this story, stuff is going to start happening really fast, because I'm getting bored with it and I want to get past this part. This is a month and a half later. Rory is now fourteen. Nothing really happened, at school they are the golden couple, and they've never had a major fight or anything.   
  
"I said no." Tristan said once again to the girl sitting in front of him.   
  
"Come on Tristan, one dance, that's all I'm asking for. Nothing else."  
  
"Allie, no. I have a girlfriend, I'm not going to dance with you."  
  
"Where is she now?"  
  
"With Natalie."  
  
"So she'll never know, it will just be between us."  
  
"No. I don't even want to."  
  
"You never cared before. Even when you've had girlfriends before, you'd still dance with me."  
  
"Well not now. You're wasting your time, go away."  
  
"Fine, I'll be back later."  
  
"Right." he turned and walked through the crowded house, trying to find someone to talk to.  
  
"Tristan! Hey."  
  
"Hey Garrett."  
  
"Whats up man? You know, there are a lot of hott girls here."  
  
"Yeah, I see that."  
  
"So, I saw you talking to Allie Snow, what was that all about, huh?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and elbowing Tristan suggestively.  
  
"Are you drunk?" he asked with a mixture of disgust and annoyance.  
  
"No, no! I'm not drunk. I'm-" he stumbled and Tristan caught him, "Garrett, go to sleep." he dropped the boy on the couch and walked away while Garrett curled into a ball and dozed off. He kept walking until he came to Erin, "Hey, have you seen Rory?"  
  
She turned away from Sammie Dorta and faced Tristan, "Not for half an hour. She was trying to convince Natalie to jump in the pool."  
  
"They brought bathing suits?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Was she drunk?"   
  
"Have you ever met Rory?"  
  
"No, then?"  
  
"Nope, she was just bored."  
  
"It's March!"  
  
She couldn't find you." They had to scream over the blaring music.  
  
"Have you seen Devin?" She shook her head.  
  
"Josh?" she shrugged.  
  
"Tray?" Erin pointed to the game room. He nodded as a sign of thanks. Tristan stepped into the large room lined with old games and with pool tables and air hockey in the middle. He spotted Tray and Kaleb, who were laughing hysterically at something a guy next to them had said. He walked over to them, "Hey."  
  
They turned around, "Tristan! My man!" Tray said, hitting Tristan on the shoulder.  
  
"Hey, where have you been?" Kaleb asked, slurring the words.   
  
He looked and saw that both had unmarked bottle in their hands. "Um, just talking."  
  
"Here." Tray said, holding his bottle out to Tristan.  
  
"Um, no thanks, I'm good.  
  
Kaleb spoke, "Look, Tris. We get that since you've been dating Rory, you want to be careful, you know? And this is only the second party you two have ever been to together. You didn't drink at the last party, and we get that."  
  
"But man," Tray added, "You can't come to two parties in a row, and not have anything to drink. So come on." he shoved the bottle into Tristan's hands.  
  
Tristan handed it back. "Tris, look, do you see any girls? No. It's just you, me, Tray, Alex, Cory, and Jacob." Kaleb pointed to each guy in the circle, "No girls, no temptation." He handed his bottle to Tristan who looked around before taking a drink.   
  
"And he finally loosens up." Tray said, smirking. "This party will liven up a little with our old king back!"  
  
THIRTY MINUETS LATER  
  
Rory walked from the closed off pool area into the house, her clothes slightly damp, with Natalie beside her, still grumbling, "I can't believe I let you talk me into that."  
  
"It was fun and you know it."  
  
"But I'm wet."  
  
"You'll dry."  
  
Natalie laughed, taking a ruined piece of paper out of her pocket, "I don't have Sarah Carson's number anymore, I guess we can't work on our science project."  
  
Rory rolled her eyes, "I'll never understand how you pass."  
  
"Neither will I, but that's okay." Rory laughed, but it died in her throat at the sight in front of her.  
  
TWENTY MINUETS EARLIER  
  
Tristan was still talking to the group of guys fifteen minuets later, having had a lot more to drink, when Allie popped out of no where, wrapping her arms around him, "Hey, ready to dance now?"  
  
"I dunno." he slurred his words, "I have a girlfriend you know."  
  
"Exactly, that's what makes it so fun. It's forbidden. You're taken, I'm taken, it's more fun that way."  
  
"Hm, I don't think so."  
  
"Come on." she pulled on his hand and dragged him to the dance floor and stopped right in the middle, grinding against him to the rhythm of the music. He just stood there, too surprised to do anything.   
  
After a few moments of staring at her in shock he felt dizzy, so he walked over to sit down on one of the recliners. Allie followed him and sat on his lap. He shook his head to clear it, "No, get off."  
  
"But Tristan, my feet are tired."  
  
"So go sit somewhere else."  
  
"But I want to sit with you."  
  
"No, I told you, I have a girlfriend. Rory."  
  
"Rory doesn't have to know."  
  
"I don't lie to her like my other girlfriends. And I won't cheat on her, so go away." She sat back down and grabbed his face, crushing her lips against his. He started to push her away, but she had a death grip on him. Tristan heard a familiar voice laughing and red warning lights went off in his head. Rory. Suddenly the laughter died and he heard her make a strange choking noise. He was finally able to pry Allie from his face in time to see the look of pure shock and hurt on his girlfriend's face. Somehow the sight of her sobered him and he was brought crashing down to reality. Tears filled her eyes and she backed away from him. He stood up, causing a smirking Allie to fall to the ground.  
  
"Rory." She shook her head. Tristan stepped towards her.  
  
"Rory please." she kept backing away and shaking her head, as if not comprehending what he was saying.  
  
"Rory, I didn't." Tears slid down her face.  
  
"Rory, I love you, I didn't mean-" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Please, Rory don't," his voice caught in his throat.  
  
She found her frail voice, "How could you do this to me?" it was barely over a whisper, but it sounded as if she'd screamed it over the pounding music, which was suddenly muted.   
  
Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Tristan watched Rory clutch the chain he'd given her weeks ago, which hadn't yet left her body. She pulled hard and it snapped from the back of her slim neck. Her arm dropped and the thin line of metal slid from the girl's limp hand. Normal speed returned to his vision and he looked up at her, expecting anger, even hate. But he saw neither, only pain and confusion.   
  
Rory turned, needing to get away from here. She ran straight out the door, not looking back. The party was suffocating. Tristan's gaze was penetrating. Her tears were blinding. The music deafening. Her heart breaking.   
  
Tristan watched her run. When she was out of sight, he picked the warm necklace up from the cold floor. Different words whirled in his aching head. Rory. Love. Kiss. Mistake. Cold. Lies. Pain. Run. Tears. Cheat. Allie.   
  
He felt tears push at the back of his eyes as he collapsed in a chair. He was ruined. Pain tore at his body and mind. It was over. She'd done what she had wanted to do for months. Allie had gotten her revenge. 


	14. The Assembly

A/N: If the date in this chapter confuses you, this goes along with the same timeline as the show, so this is in 2000, because they graduated in 2003.  
  
Tristan walked up to Rory in the hall on Wednesday, she'd ignored him all week. He called, e-mailed, come up to her in the hall, but she always ignored him. Today he prayed she wouldn't. "Rory." Her head snapped up and her stomach dropped, Tristan. He called, e-mailed, even tried to talk to her in the halls, but she just ignored him. "Rory," she started to walk away but he grabbed her arm gently, "Rory, please, listen to me."  
  
She closed her eyes, "What?"  
  
"Please listen to me-"  
  
"Tristan, don't."  
  
"Rory-"  
  
"No, Tristan, you have no idea how much it hurt when I saw you with her. You promised me that you only used her to make me jealous. You swore that you had no feelings for her, so can you imagine my shock and hurt when I see you two in a lip-lock?"  
  
"Rory, she grabbed me. I was slightly drunk and I didn't mean to. Rory, I love you."  
  
Her voice softened "Look, I know you love me. I know. That was never an issue. I never had a doubt of your feelings for me. It's your feelings for her that worry me." she slid her arm from his grasp and turned, walking down the hall quickly. Tristan swore under his breath and hit his head against the locker, wondering what would make her listen to him. Suddenly his head shot up as an idea popped into his head and he set off to find the guys.  
  
NEXT MORNING, CHILTON FACULTY ROOM  
  
"Headmaster Calaway."  
  
"Yes Mrs. Tate?" he asked, turning around.  
  
"Did you schedule an assembly for this afternoon?"  
  
"No. There is one in two weeks, but not today. Why?"   
  
"These are all over the school." she said, handing him a slip of paper that read:  
  
  
  
Reminder:  
  
Today, 3/20/00, we will be having an assembly in the Upper Gym at the time we are usually in sixth period. Instead of going to your sixth period, please come to the Upper Gym.  
  
Thank you,   
  
The Chilton staff  
  
The headmaster looked up, "I never scheduled an assembly, and I definitely didn't print these out."  
  
"Then who could have?" she asked.  
  
"Perhaps one of the teachers?"  
  
"I've asked them all. No one did."   
  
"I don't know, a student, maybe. We'll see what it's about this afternoon I suppose." he said, looking down at the paper in his hand.  
  
FIFTH PERIOD  
  
Erin leaned over to Rory, "Have you seen Garrett?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"He should be in this class with us." Rory looked around, realizing that Kaleb wasn't there either.  
  
UPPER GYM  
  
"Do you guys have ANY idea how much trouble we could get in for this?" Josh asked, setting up his keyboard.  
  
"A shit load, but hey, we're doing it." Kaleb said, setting down his symbol.  
  
"Any there's no way in hell we're getting away with this, so we're stuck together." Garrett added, running his fingers over the neck of his guitar.  
  
"You guys can bail if you want, but I have to do this." Tristan said, setting up his microphone.  
  
"Look," Devin said, standing up after he plugged in the speakers, "When we were eight, we swore that we'd stick together no matter what. We made a pack that if one of us went down, the rest would go down with him."  
  
"So none of us are gonna bail, no matter what. Rory is like a sister to all of us and we're doing this, no matter what happens. All that matters right now is that Rory and Tristan get back together." Tray said, slapping Tristan on the back.  
  
He nodded distractedly as the bell rang, signaling the end of fifth period. They picked up their instruments and Tristan looked to each of them, he and Devin hit knuckles, "This is it." he said to them as people started to file in.  
  
A/N: Okay, short chapter, I know. I just really wanted to end it here. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow, or maybe today. I don't know. Review. Lata darlings! 


	15. For You

A/N: Just warning you ahead of time, this chapter is mostly lyrics because yea, I just like writing them. I don't own 'For You', 'Made of Glass', or 'Black Balloon'.  
  
  
  
"I wonder what this assembly is about." Erin said, following Rory from their class room.  
  
"I don't know, but it beats sitting in sixth period."  
  
"True, very true."  
  
"So, do you have any idea where Garrett and Tray could have gone?"  
  
Erin shook her head, "They were here earlier."  
  
"They just disappeared, how sad."  
  
"And you sound so sincere." Erin said, laughing as they entered the Upper Gym, only to be shocked at the sight in front of them.  
  
A few moments after people started coming in, Tristan spotted Rory walk in with a stunned look. He'd told them to start playing as soon as Rory came in, since he wasn't sure how long it would be before the principle came in. Devin played the first chords and Tristan felt something come over him, which always happened before he sang. He kept his eyes on Rory, unwavering.  
  
____________________________________  
  
I waited for you, I died inside my own head  
  
And I'd die again for you  
  
I'm faded and tired, completely uninspired  
  
And I'd die again for you  
  
So kill me with the love   
  
That you won't give to me  
  
And pack the wound with salt  
  
I want to feel it bleed  
  
______________________________________  
  
He kept his eyes locked on her, not letting Rory look away, no matter how much she wanted to.  
  
_______________________________________  
  
I'm searching for reasons to keep away the demons  
  
And I'd die again for you  
  
I wish you were near me  
  
Could feel it when you hear me say  
  
I'd die again for you  
  
So kill me with the love   
  
That you won't give to me  
  
And pack the wound with salt  
  
I want to feel it bleed  
  
You wanted me to crawl  
  
So now I'm on my knees  
  
Why's it always have to be me  
  
That's always left out to burn  
  
And I'll never learn  
  
Why's it always have to be me  
  
That's left out to burn  
  
And I'll never learn  
  
So kill me with the love   
  
That you won't give to me  
  
And pack the wound with salt  
  
I want to feel it bleed  
  
You wanted me to crawl  
  
So now I'm on my knees  
  
_______________________________________  
  
There was complete silence, every one stared in shock until Katie slowly started to clap. After her the people around her began to do the same, and it had a tidal wave effect until the gym was deafening with cheers. Within the time that it had taken them to play that song the entire school had made their way into the large room. All were cheering, except one. Rory. She was looking at Tristan with an emotionless stare. He heard the music start again and once more, it overtook him.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Baby's black balloon makes her fly  
  
I almost fell into that hole in your life  
  
And you're not thinking about tomorrow   
  
'Cause you were the same as me  
  
But on your knees  
  
A thousand other boys could never reach you  
  
How could I have been the one  
  
I saw the world spin beneath you  
  
And scatter like ice from the spoon  
  
That was your womb   
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Rory was reminded of the other time he'd sung to her, the last time that she had believed him incapable of loving.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Comin' down the world turned over  
  
And angels fall without you there  
  
And I go on as you get colder  
  
Or are you someone's prayer  
  
You know the lies they always told you  
  
And the love you never knew  
  
What's the things they never showed you  
  
That swallowed the light from your sun  
  
Inside your room  
  
Comin' down the world turned over  
  
And angels fall without you there  
  
And I go on as you get colder  
  
And there's no time left for losin'  
  
When you stand they fall  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
Rory finally tore her eyes away, unable to look at him any longer. When he sang he was different, not himself, but still just Tristan, the same person who could always look straight into her soul and she could do nothing about it. The same one who drove her crazy, the same one she loved.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
Comin' down the world turned over  
  
And angels fall without you there  
  
And I go on as you grow colder  
  
All because I'm   
  
Comin' down the world turned over  
  
And angels fall without you there   
  
And I'll go on to bring you home  
  
All because I'm  
  
All because I'm  
  
And I'll become   
  
What you became to me  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
The cheers were louder than they were for the last song, even more deafening. People were screaming, louder than any audience they'd ever had anywhere else. Rory had tears in her eyes and she looked away, closing her eyes as the music started again and Tristan began to sing to her a last time.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I don't know anything at all and I'm somebody else  
  
It could take years to find you  
  
It could take years to find myself  
  
And I don't want to hear your answer  
  
I just need you to see  
  
That I think it's time to break down   
  
These walls that we throw  
  
Am I still breathing  
  
Have I lost that feeling  
  
Am I made of glass  
  
'Cause you see right through me  
  
I don't know who I am  
  
You're the only one who sees that  
  
I can't ask these questions  
  
That cannot be answered today  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She looked back up and their eyes met, electricity shot through her like she'd never felt. Her anger and pain were forgotten for a moment as she realized what Tristan had done for her. The risk all six of the guys had taken by doing this for her, they were risking being expelled, for her. And she hadn't even bothered to listen to Tristan when he tried to explain.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
And even if everything goes wrong  
  
And we start to fall apart  
  
I will understand where you are  
  
I will understand this by myself  
  
And I don't need to hear your answer  
  
I just need you to feel   
  
Like there are no boundaries at all  
  
Am I still breathing  
  
Have I lost that feeling  
  
Am I made of glass   
  
'Cause you see right through me  
  
I don't know who I am  
  
You're the only one who sees that  
  
I can't ask these questions  
  
That cannot be answered today  
  
Today I don't mind  
  
I don't matter today  
  
And how far have we come  
  
Too far to throw away the past  
  
Will you be there waiting for me  
  
I have to ask what we are  
  
If I ask today it just won't last  
  
So I'll be here waiting for you  
  
Will we ever feel this good again  
  
Not today  
  
Will we ever feel this real again  
  
Not today  
  
Will we ever feel this real again  
  
Not today  
  
Will you ever be mine again  
  
Not today  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As the song ended, the principle, the vice principle, and several teachers came over, to escort the six boys to the office. Rory watched them move towards the door and something took a hold of her. While the noise of the students was still deafening, she ran down the bleachers and jumped off the stairs, running to them. She caught them as they were in the door way leading from the gym to the main hall. Tristan turned upon seeing her running towards them. The rest of the group stopped when he did. She ran right up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing their lips together. Tristan was caught off guard but recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly, the cheering crowd became louder as the other five boys joined in. Tristan was pulled away from her by his collar. The principle was more enraged than before at this display and he turned Tristan, marching him to the office with the rest. As Tristan was pulled away from her, Rory's hand slid from his grasp. She watched him go with a smile on her face. Katie, Natalie, and Erin ran to her, the crowd as loud as before. They started yelling excitedly, but all Rory was paying attention to was the chain Tristan had left in her hand, the clasp fixed.  
  
A/N: Ah, so sweet. Review! Muah. 


	16. Bad Feelings

A few weeks later, Rory was sitting at lunch, talking to the girls. "Ror, there's nothing to talk to her about. I say take her out as soon as she walks in."   
  
"Erin, we can't do that."  
  
"Why not? Rory we can take the bitches." Natalie said.  
  
"Yeah, I mean, they've never played a contact sport in their entire lives, only cheerleading. Where as WE have been playing tackle football with the guys for years."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but we don't want to get suspended because of them. I'm thinking more along the lines of playing with their heads. We're good at that."  
  
"Yeah, but I still think it would be better if we took them out." Erin said, leaning back in her chair. "Look, there they are." Rory turned and saw Allie and her friends walking in. She waited a few minuets and nodded to Erin, Katie and Natalie. They stood up, walking to a table with four girls and four guys. Every one was silent. at Whitland, there were two popular groups: The Punks- Tristan, Devin, Rory, Erin, Josh, Tray, Katie, Natalie, Kaleb, and Garrett. They didn't care what people thought of them, they wore what they wanted and altered uniforms as much as they could get away with. All had good grades, but rarely did homework. Some had outlandish colored hair. They were popular because of their carefree attitude.   
  
The Preps: Allie, Bailey, Megan, Kelsey, Cory, JJ, Donovan, and Clay. What others thought of them meant everything. The girls altered uniforms, making the skirts shorter and blouses tighter. All had good grades and always did homework. The only colors they put in their hair were natural shades of red, brown, and blonde.   
  
When the two popular groups collided, you didn't want to draw attention to yourself. The two groups were polar opposites, but their power over the students was equal, and the power these students had over the rest was rivaled by no other school. They each stopped behind one of the girls sitting down. The four guys opened their mouths before saying bye to the girls and leaving, they didn't want to get involved, they knew that out of the two popular groups, they were the weaker. Rory sat in JJ's vacated seat, beside Allie and each of her friends sat in an empty seat, facing one of their enemies.   
  
Rory smiled a sickeningly sweet smile, "Allie, sweetie."  
  
She smiled in a nervously, scared of what would happen, "Hey Rory."  
  
She sighed, "You know, I heard the strangest thing."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I heard, but you know, I wanted to confirm it with you before I got all worked up in case it was nothing, anyway, a little birdie told me something VERY interesting."  
  
"Oh?" she said, her voice higher than usual because of the way Rory was looking at her.  
  
"I HEARD that Tristan wasn't really that drunk at the party." she stopped at waited for the older girl's reaction, but none came, "And someone also told me that he tried to push you off, but you wouldn't go away." she looked expectantly at Allie.  
  
"W-well, I mean, you know, there are different views to every story, you know, s-some would say I was flirting-"  
  
"Actually," Rory interrupted her, "I was told that it was more throwing yourself at him." she said, smiling calmly.  
  
"W-well, I didn't consider it THROWING myself at him."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No. I-I mean you know, we-we were talking in a friendly manner, dancing a little-"  
  
"See, I heard from a very trustworthy source that you stood him in the middle of the floor and acted like a whore while he stood in shock."  
  
Allie laughed nervously, "No, no. Who told you that?"  
  
"You know, I think it's actually pretty funny."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"When I first came here, you were popular and I wasn't, I was the new girl and you were the all powerful bitch. I didn't know how the school worked, while you MADE the rules. And now that I'm dating Tristan, and you're scared of what I can do to you. I'm YOUNGER and you're terrified that I'll make your life a living hell, so you're lying to me."  
  
"No, no. I'm not LYING. I-I just don't think it would be considered throwing myself at him, that's all."  
  
"But see, it's no fun when you're scared, I'd rather you still be the all knowing prick that you were a few months ago. After all, we only have two and a half months of school left, and I would hate for you to be scared."  
  
"I'm not scared."  
  
"Lying is a sin. Do you WANT to go to hell?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Look, I was TALKING to Tristan, whoever told you I was throwing myself at him was lying."  
  
"Well, given our history, I would trust the other person."  
  
"Look, I don't know what your problem is, but-"  
  
"Okay then, I'll tell you what my problem is. You."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"You."  
  
"Why? I didn't do anything. If anyone was throwing them selves around then it was Tristan."  
  
Rory laughed humorlessly, "You really expect me to believe that?"  
  
"It's the truth."  
  
"And why would he do that?"  
  
"Don't ask me. He was drunk."  
  
"Look, Allie, I'm getting bored of your little game. I'm tired of you chasing Tristan, so I'll tell you this one time and one time only:" she leaned in and whispered, "Stay away from Tristan. Don't think I won't go all psycho girlfriend on you, because I will. If he wanted you then he would be sitting here, not me. Go behind my back like that again and I will tear your fake little blue eyes out, contacts and all. You're fake and change to be what people want. That alone pisses me off. Not to mention the fact that you're trying to steal my boyfriend. You hate me and like him, believe me when I say that even though I'm younger, I can kick your ass. And even if I couldn't, Erin, Katie, and Natalie hate you just as much as I do." she stood up and said in a normal voice, "So, remember that, and we'll be fine." She nodded to her friends and they stood up, Erin's hand 'accidentally' hit Bailey's head on her way away from the table.  
  
TRISTAN'S  
  
Rory's arms were on Tristan's chest, her chin resting on the back of her palms and she was looking up at him.   
  
"So, I heard you had a nice conversation with Allie Snow today at lunch."  
  
Rory laughed, "Yeah, you could say that."  
  
"I'm guessing it wasn't exactly nice?"  
  
"Not quite."  
  
"What was it about."  
  
"Different stuff."  
  
"Such as...?"  
  
"Well, I think your name may have been mentioned a few times."  
  
"Really?" he asked in mock surprise, the back of his head resting on his open hands against the headboard.  
  
"Yes, maybe."  
  
"And what was said?"  
  
"Oh, just something about a psychotic girlfrined and tearing out her eyes, you know, the normal."  
  
"Ah, yes." he nodded, smirking at her.  
  
"Yes, but don't worry, I was nice."  
  
"You were?"  
  
"Well, no. But I probably could have been if I tried."  
  
"Was she scared?"  
  
Rory shrugged, "Maybe a little." she held two of her fingers and inch apart to show him.  
  
"I'm surprised."  
  
"Oh? Why?"  
  
"That you waited over a month to say anything to her."   
  
Rory shrugged, "She didn't expect it. She would have expected me to talk to her sooner." he nodded and they sat in silence for a few minuets, listening to the stereo play.   
  
He sat up suddenly and so did she, "Rory, you know no matter what happens, I love you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"No matter what I say, please remember that I love you and I always will."  
  
She looked at him strangely, "Where did that come from?"  
  
"Just, please remember that."  
  
"Okay, but what's wrong?"  
  
He shook his head, "I'm fine, I just wanted you to know that."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Good, just, Rory," he grabbed her hands, "If I ever say anything to make you think otherwise, don't believe it."   
  
"Tristan, you're really scaring me."  
  
"I just wanted you to trust me on that fact and nothing else."  
  
"I do. I promise."   
  
Tristan walked her home an hour later, "Remember what I said."  
  
She nodded, "I will."  
  
He kissed her slowly, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. Her arms snaked around Tristan's neck. She was surprised at how gently he slid his tongue over her lips. She opened her mouth, pulling him closer to her.  
  
Tristan pulled away a little while later, looking at her sadly, "I love you." he whispered.  
  
She looked up at him and tilted her head, "Are you sure that you're okay?" he nodded. "Then why are you acting like your best friend died?"  
  
"Because I have a weird feeling something bad is about to happen."  
  
"To us?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Tristan, we've been through a lot, I don't think-"  
  
"Nothing like what's happened before."  
  
She opened her mouth to say something, but was left almost speechless at his last word, "I- what do you think is going to happen?"  
  
"I'm not sure. But I don't think it will be good."  
  
"Okay, I'm getting really scared now Tristan."  
  
He looked down at her, into her eyes, "Yeah, me too." 


	17. Posters and Phone Calls

It was a few weeks later and nothing bad had happened to Rory and Tristan, so she didn't worry about what he'd said before.  
  
Tristan smirked when he saw Rory at her locker. He leaned in behind her, whispering in her ear, "Mary, you streaked your hair purple."  
  
She jumped slightly in surprise, but smiled upon seeing him, "Yup. See how the blue has almost completely faded?" she held the tips of her hair up for him to see.   
  
His nodded, looking at her hair. "Well, purple suits you, but will the Whitland staff approve of purple hair?"  
  
"Did they approve of blue? Or green?" she asked, running her hand through his hair, which he'd dyed again two weeks ago, after it faded.  
  
"Well no, but see, the administration loves me."  
  
"Oh yes, so much that they CONSTANTLY ask you to stay after with them."  
  
"Yes."  
  
She rolled her eyes, "That's not love. That's called detention."  
  
"That's called tough love."  
  
She laughed, "Right. That's what you think."  
  
He backed her into the locker, "I do."  
  
Rory nodded, "I figured."  
  
"Yes." he said quietly before leaning in to kiss her gently. It was no surprise to either when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Tristan pulled away and rolled his eyes, Rory smirked.  
  
"Again, Mister Durey and Miss Hayden? What is this? How many detentions have you two had for kissing?"  
  
"A lot."  
  
"Well, here's one more." he held out a slip of paper to each of them. Rory sighed and took hers slowly. Tristan stared at his.  
  
"Do we have to?"  
  
"Would you rather have in school suspension?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then yes, you do." he sighed as well and took the paper. "I'll see you two on Wednesday. And Miss Hayden?"  
  
"Yes sir?"  
  
"Purple hair is not allowed here."  
  
"I understand that. But I can't dye my hair back any time soon."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"It'll fall out."  
  
The principle rolled his eyes and turned to walk away muttering under his breath.  
  
WEDNESDAY  
  
Rory sat in front of Tristan in detention. He was absent mindedly running the hair that had fallen on his desk through his fingers.   
  
"Mister Dugrey!" the teacher barked.  
  
Tristan jumped slightly and looked up at her, "Yea ma'am?"  
  
"What ever is so interesting about Miss Hayden's hair?"  
  
He pulled his hands away, "Nothing."   
  
Rory smirked, eyes glued to the book in hand, "Well then, stop touching it and do something productive. Or do you find memorizing the texture of her hair important?"  
  
"Actually, I do. Very much so, ma'am."  
  
The students looked up, interested to see where this would go. The teacher's eyebrow arched in questioning, "Oh, really?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Well, seeing as how she's my girlfriend and all, I would very much like to know how her hair feels."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
"Completely."  
  
"Are you two the ones in here for making out in the hall?"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say that we were actually making out." he stressed the last words.   
  
"Well, that's what the principle wrote on your form." she said, pulling it from her desk.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Mm hm."  
  
He nodded, "Well, it may have been along the lines of making out." Rory rolled her eyes and turned around. He smirked and looked up at the teacher, "See, she knows it was." he nodded to Rory, who shook her head and turned back around to face the front, a small smile playing onto her face.   
  
The teacher rolled her eyes, "You aren't allowed to talk in detention, Mister Dugrey."  
  
He shrugged, "Sorry." the bell rang, signaling the end of detention.   
  
Rory stood up, turning to face him, "You're a bad kid."  
  
He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked from the room, "No, it just seems like it. I'm really a boy scout at heart." at this Rory doubled over with laughter. "What? You don't believe me?"  
  
"Um, no."   
  
"Mary, I'm hurt."  
  
"And I feel so bad for you."  
  
"Your sarcasm is dully noted."  
  
"No, I'm serious. I feel bad that you're so confused."  
  
Tristan rolled his eyes, "How sweet."  
  
TRISTAN'S HOUSE, THAT NIGHT  
  
Rory was sitting on Tristan's bed and he was digging through his closet. Rory sighed, "My god, Tristan! Just give up! I believe you."  
  
"No you don't." he said, still out of her view.  
  
"Tristan, I believe that you have a signed Shadows Fall poster."  
  
"Liar."  
  
"I really do."  
  
"HA!" he said, walking out of his closet and holding a poster out to her. Rory's jaw dropped and she jumped off the bed, grabbing it from him.  
  
"You really have one!"  
  
"I thought you believed me."  
  
"Well, yeah. I lied. When did you get this?"  
  
"I went to Hell Fest with my cousin a few years ago."  
  
"And they were there?"  
  
"Yeah." he smirked, seeing her studying the poster so closely.  
  
"I hate you."   
  
He rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead, "And I love you."  
  
"I hate you..you..you evil bastard."  
  
"Why? Because I have a signed Shadows Fall poster?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Well that's nice."  
  
She hissed and whispered, "Evil."   
  
"Sorry."  
  
"LIES!" she screamed.  
  
He laughed, "You're insane, you know that?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I think it's the purple."  
  
"No, it's you." she fell backwards onto his bed and he dropped the poster to the floor, laying down with his head on her stomach. Rory laid her head down and closed her eyes, sighing, "I should call my dad. It's almost nine and I was supposed to call him half an hour ago." She rolled over and Tristan sat up. She picked up the phone from his night stand and dialed her dad's cell number.  
  
Rory/Chris   
  
C: Hello?  
  
R: Hey daddy.  
  
C: Is this my daughter who was supposed to call half an hour ago?  
  
R: Maybe. Have you talked to Vicky lately?  
  
C: No.  
  
R: Then yeah, it's me.  
  
C: Are you still at Tristan's?  
  
R: Considering I'm only fourteen and can't drive, yeah. I'm still here.  
  
C: So you want me to come pick you up?  
  
R: You mean do I want you to, or you're going to?  
  
C: I'm going to.  
  
R: Damn.  
  
C: No swearing.  
  
R: Sorry.  
  
C: But I'm still at the office-  
  
R: STILL?! Dad, it's nine!  
  
C: Thank you for that. I know what time it is.  
  
R: He he. Right. Sorry.  
  
C: On second thought, I can just have Alyson pick you up on her way from work.  
  
R: Why don't you just come pick me up when you come home?  
  
C: That'll be at least another hour.  
  
R: That's fine with me. What about you Tristan?  
  
T: What?  
  
R: My dad will get off in an hour, is it okay with you if he picks me up then?  
  
T: Yeah.  
  
R: Dad? Tristan's okay with it.  
  
C: I'm sure he is. After all, he IS fifteen. I'd just rather have Alyson pick you up. She's on her way to her apartment right now, and Tristan's is on the way.  
  
R: Dad, we only live a few blocks from Tristan, it's walking distance. I could easily walk home anyway.  
  
C: I don't want you walking home in the dark.  
  
R: Dad, I'm fourteen years old.  
  
C: Yeah, that's kind of my point.  
  
R: Ah.  
  
C: Yes, so I'll just call Alyson and have her pick you up.  
  
R: Why don't you just come pick me up on your way back?  
  
C: I don't know.  
  
R: Please?  
  
C: If I let you stay there until ten then that would make me a horrible father.  
  
R: I wouldn't tell anyone.  
  
Chris laughed   
  
C: I'm sure you wouldn't.  
  
R: Please?   
  
C: Tell you what, I'll get off in half an hour and come pick you up then.  
  
R: Okay.  
  
C: So I'll see you in half an hour?  
  
R: Yup.  
  
C: Okay, I love you.  
  
R: Love you too dad.  
  
C: Bye.  
  
R: Bye.  
  
C: And Rory?  
  
R: Hm?  
  
C: One of you get off his bed.  
  
She laughed.   
  
R: Bye dad.  
  
C: Bye.  
  
End intercut.  
  
"Okay, so he's getting off in half an hour to come pick me up."   
  
"Good." Tristan leaned forward and captured her lips in his, leaning her down to lay on her back.  
  
Before she was completely laying down she broke away, "You're still a bastard, you know that?"  
  
He smirked, "So I've heard." she opened her mouth to speak again, but his mouth covered hers, silencing her.  
  
FORTY FIVE MINUETS LATER  
  
Rory and Tristan sat on the couch, watching a movie. She'd expected her dad to be late and wasn't in the least bit surprised when he showed up fifteen minuets later than he said he would. Rory stood when they heard the horn honk outside. Tristan stood with her, she put her hand on the door handle to open it, but Tristan put his hand on the door, keeping it shut. He kissed her slowly, not wanting her dad to see. After they broke away, she looked at him strangely. He just raised his eyebrow and removed his hand so she could open the door. His aunt walked to the foyer as she opened the door. "Are you leaving now, Rory?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you later, Erika."  
  
"Bye." she waved to Chris, who waved back from the car. Tristan walked out to the car with Rory. He opened the passenger side door for her. She smiled and sat down.  
  
"Hey Chris." he said, looking at her dad.  
  
He smiled, "Hey Tristan, how're you doing?"  
  
"Good, what about you?"  
  
He sighed, "Adult life's a bitch."   
  
Tristan and Rory laughed, "Dad, no swearing."  
  
"Sorry." he turned to Tristan, "So Tristan, I'll see you this weekend at that hell which we so lovingly call a country club?"  
  
He laughed again, "Yeah." he closed the door and Rory rolled down the window. "Bye Chris, See you tomorrow Mary."  
  
"Bye Tristan."  
  
Rory leaned forward and kissed him gently. "Bye." she whispered before pulling back. He shook his head, watching them drive away.   
  
"Nice shirt."  
  
Rory looked down at her chest, "Oh. Yeah." She was wearing one of Tristan's shirts, having spilled coffee on her own. "Coffee."  
  
His eyebrow raised in questioning, "Ah."  
  
"Yeah. I spilled it on my other shirt."  
  
"So, what did you guys do?"  
  
She turned to face him, "Do you really want to know?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I asked, didn't I?"  
  
"It's not the kind of thing you share with your father."  
  
The car swerved violently, "WHAT!"  
  
"Jesus dad! I was kidding! Keep control of the car so we don't die! We just hung out. Nothing bad."  
  
"Don't ever do that again." Rory laughed. "It's not funny.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Tristan walked back into the house to see his aunt on the phone and his uncle sitting beside her, looking nervous about the side of the conversation he was hearing. "Okay, yeah, yeah, I know! But you don't understand! No, no. You listen to me! Of course we do! No it's not an inconvenience, like you would even care." she kept stopping, being cut off by the person on the other line, "We do love him. Well it's a lot more healthy here! Yes, I know you're is father but-" she stopped talking and her face fell, "Yes, I know. When? Whatever. Right. Bye." she hung up the phone and looked at Tristan. "Tris, I have to tell you something."  
  
"That was my dad, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why did he call? He's only called once a year since I moved here."  
  
Erika sighed, "Yeah, well, that's about to change." she said, facing him with tears in her eyes.  
  
A/N: So, sorry about the lack of updates on well...everything. Anyway, what's going to happen with Rory and Tristan? How will he react to his father's commands? He he he, find out when I update. Review and I might type faster. Muah. Leave me feedback my little darlings. Lata. 


	18. Chapter: Tristan

A/N: Rory streaked her hair purple, not the entire thing.  
  
Tristan stared at his aunt in shock, "Why would he want that?"  
  
She shrugged, "He says that he misses you."  
  
"But, but I'm happy here. I don't WANT to move to Hartford!"  
  
"I know that, but you don't have a choice. None of us do. Trust me, if we had any choice, you know that we'd fight him, but for almost a month he's been calling and asking to talk to you."  
  
"I don't want to talk to him!"  
  
"That's why we never gave you the phone." his uncle put in. Tristan looked at both of them with wide eyes. His aunt and uncle glanced at each other nervously, "Um, Tristan, you father, he doesn't..." he trailed off, looking at his wife, who bit her lip slowly.  
  
"Tristan, he doesn't want you to keep and ties in Boston."  
  
He shook his head, a look of horror on his face, "No."  
  
"I'm sorry, Tristan." Erika stepped forward, wanting to comfort her nephew.  
  
"No, Erika, he practically abandoned me! He screwed up and didn't want to deal with me, so he sent me here! I hear from him once a year, if he remembers my birthday. He's not about to just walk in and take over my life!"  
  
"He's your father, we can't stop him!" she yelled, "Tristan, do you really think we WANT you to go? Because we don't. We see you as our son, we don't want you to go back to Hartford, but we have just as little power over him as you do. I'm sorry."  
  
Tristan looked away, refusing to let the tears fall that were threatening, "I will NOT do that."  
  
Erika's face softened and her voice was barely a whisper, "I am SO sorry, I know how much you love her."   
  
He shook his head, tears filling his eyes, "I can't."  
  
His uncle put a warm hand on his shoulder, "Tristan, you have to. We're here for you, but she can't be. I wish that there was something we could do, but we can't. You don't understand, we've fought your father for months over where you would live. He wants you home. We're not your legal guardians, meaning he could use that card, but we couldn't, giving him the upper hand."  
  
"No, you don't understand, I CAN'T just break up with Rory. She'd know something was wrong. If I tell her I'm moving, she'd know that I was just doing it because of that and she'd make sure I knew that she was okay with having a boyfriend in a different state. Trust me."  
  
Erika sighed, "Then you just have to do whatever you can to make her believe you don't want to be together any more."  
  
Tristan narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, you have to, you know...be..." she trailed off, looking to her husband for support.  
  
He sighed, "Do whatever you have to. Yell at her, lie. Whatever you have to that might make her believe you."  
  
"God I hate him." Tristan whispered, looking away. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow." he turned to the stairs.  
  
"Tristan!" his aunt called when he was half way up. He stopped, but didn't turn around. She sighed and stayed silent. He kept walking.  
  
WHITLAND, THE NEXT DAY  
  
Rory sat beside Josh at lunch, staring at the place Tristan usually occupied. "What's wrong Ror?" he asked the usually hyper active girl.  
  
She shook her head, "I don't know. Tristan had been avoiding me all day. Have you noticed anything that I've done that might make him mad?"  
  
Josh shook his head, "I don't think you COULD do anything to piss him off. Not you."  
  
"I just. I dunno. He hasn't talked to me all day. He looked at me once, but it was kind of a sad look, like he was apologizing for something."  
  
"Did he do something that he thinks might have pissed you off?"  
  
"Nothing I can think of." she said, shaking her head with a strained look, "I just, I mean, nothing happened that would make him ignore me."  
  
Josh tilted his head, "He didn't come up to your locker this morning, did he?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay, that's messed up. He's gone to your locker, like, everyday since you moved here."  
  
"I know. I'm freaking out. Do you think he's okay?"  
  
"I dunno. You should talk to him."  
  
AFTER FOURTH PERIOD  
  
Rory stood at her locker, pulling books out when she looked up to see if she could spot Tristan through the crowded hall. He was walking out of one of the side doors, leading to the back. And a large oak tree. She looked from the hall of her fifth class to the door Tristan had just walked through and gave the two ways a split second of thought before she turned towards the door.   
  
Rory found Tristan leaning against the same oak tree that he'd asked her out under. It had sort of become their 'spot'. If one was upset, they'd come to this place and the other would show up. They were connected in that kind of way. She walked over to him, "Hey." His head shot up, he hadn't expected her. Tristan sat, looking at her in silence. She sighed, "What's wrong?"  
  
He stood up, "Nothing."  
  
"Then why have you been ignoring me all day?"   
  
Tristan looked at her, this was the moment that her opinion of him would change. He was about to throw away the one good thing in his life. The one person he felt capable of loving. His eyes clouded over and his shields went up, the mask he'd had years to perfect. He shook his head, "Don't you know?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Rory, I thought that by ignoring you, you might get the message."  
  
"What message?"  
  
He rolled his eyes, "You can't see it?"  
  
"If I could see it then I wouldn't be here asking you."  
  
"Rory, it's not working."  
  
"What's not working?"  
  
"This. Me and you. I'm tired of waiting for you."  
  
"Okay Tristan, I really don't get what you mean."  
  
"Have you always been this slow and I just never realized it?"  
  
"I don't want to play a guessing game. what the hell are you saying?"  
  
Tristan sighed, "It's over."  
  
Rory looked as if someone had slapped her in the face, "W-what?"  
  
"It's over. I'm dumping you."  
  
She shook her head, "No. No, you said that no matter what you'd always love me and-"   
  
"Forget what I said. Listen to what I'm saying now. I never loved you. And even if I did, like I told you before, love fades. It's not real, only an illusion."  
  
"You're lying."  
  
He laughed bitterly, "Why the hell would I lie about something like this?"  
  
"I don't know. But I do know that you're lying. You were warning me or something. You said that you love me, and if you ever said anything to make me think otherwise then to just ignore it."  
  
"Well, listen to what I'm saying now. I. Do. Not. Love. You. I never did. I didn't get what I wanted and I don't think I will, so it's over."  
  
"How can you tell someone you love them and then the very next day say you don't?"  
  
"Look, Rory, honestly, you were a nice piece of ass. That's all. My best friend's sister. Nothing more."  
  
"But-"  
  
"NO! Rory, no. It's over. Get out of denial. Every one warned you, right? You can't say you didn't get fair warning. Didn't people tell you not to fall for a player? That you'd only get hurt? Well guess what? You fell and I'm NOT about to catch you." even hearing himself say this to her, he couldn't believe it was really him. Tristan felt like shit for doing this to her. She didn't look mad. Just confused and hurt.  
  
"So then what was I?"   
  
"Like I said, a nice piece of ass. A conquest. Nothing."  
  
Rory felt tears push against the back of her eyes, but she closed them, not letting him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Deep down inside, she wanted to believe that what he was saying wasn't true, but she couldn't lie to herself. His eyes were void of emotion, giving her no reason not to believe him. "So then every one was right about you?"  
  
"Yes. I played you Rory. I. Played. You."  
  
Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said, "So it was all a game to you?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
"So what now? You know Devin won't want to talk to you."  
  
"Yeah well I don't have to worry about that. I'm moving to Hartford. I'm leaving behind everything. I'm leaving you and forgetting about you completely. But you won't be able to." he leaned in closer. She was looking down. "Everything will be a constant reminder of what you thought we had. All our friends, everything in your room, this school that we ruled together, that necklace around your neck. Everything. Cause see, you won't be able to get away from it, but I can. I'm leaving, and you're stuck behind. Just like with Marco." having said his piece, Tristan stood up and dropped a single rose on her lap, it was dead and dried, blood red and covered in sharp thorns. "A sign of my 'love', Mary. Later." He walked away, Rory hadn't looked at him since he said he was forgetting about her.   
  
He'd practiced what he would say to her, but when it came down to it, he'd had to wing it. And nothing he'd practiced saying had been that cruel. Nothing. He hadn't known he was capable of being that cold to her. His Mary. But not anymore. He'd left her crying. Alone. He felt lower than shit. She'd never done anything to deserve that, but she'd gotten it. Once Tristan was around the wall of the school, out of her view, he looked back, wanting to see her one last time. She was crying silently, running her finger over the dead rose slowly, a thorn cut her finger and she did nothing, just let it bleed. Tristan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, needing something to support his legs, which were dangerously close to giving out. Tears slid slowly down his cheeks and he pulled out his cell phone, dialing Erika's number.  
  
E: Hello?  
  
T: Erika?  
  
E: Tristan?  
  
T: Can you come get me?  
  
E: Where are you?  
  
T: School.  
  
E: Why do you want me to-  
  
T: I broke up with her. Bad.  
  
E: I'm on my way.  
  
T: Thanks.  
  
E: I'll be there in like, ten minuets.  
  
T: Okay, bye.  
  
E: Bye. And Tristan?  
  
T: Yeah?  
  
E: I really am sorry.  
  
T: I know. Me too.  
  
Rory didn't know how long she sat under that tree. She would have guessed around an hour and a half. Maybe two. But yet, the tears never seemed to stop. She never made any sound, never shook, just silent rivers, running down her fair skin like streams of liquid diamond. Every once in a while, a thorn would pierce her finger, but she never tried to stop the blood flow. She didn't even feel the break in her body. She was numb from all the emotions that had gone through her wracked body. She breathed in deeply. What had she done to deserve that? The thought that he'd never loved her, that he'd played her, made her feel violated. Like she was a whore. Her body began to shake violently from emotion and she leaned over, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the grass.  
  
"Hey, have you seen Rory?" Katie asked Tray, walking up to him at the end of the day.  
  
He shook his head, "Not since lunch. And it was only for a minuet. She was talking to Josh."  
  
"Hm, have you seen Tristan either?"  
  
"Nope. You?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Do you think they went somewhere?"  
  
"No, she would've told us."  
  
"Who's us?"  
  
"Me, Erin, and Natalie. Oh, and Devin."  
  
"Ah."   
  
"Oh, there she is. Ooh, she looks bad."  
  
Tray's head shot up in the direction she was looking, "What's wrong with her? She looks like she's been crying."  
  
"And she's paler than usual." Katie started to walk towards her, but Tray grabbed her arm, holding her back. "What?"  
  
Tray nodded to the younger girl, whose eyes were tearing over, she was talking to Erin, who's mouth was hanging open. Tray shook his head, "Don't overwhelm her. Leave it to Erin and Devin." Katie nodded, even though she wanted to help Rory, she knew it would be best to just let Erin and Devin handle it.   
  
Erin stared at Rory in shock, "He did what?!" she screeched, not believing her ears.  
  
"He-he broke up with me." Rory would have cried, but she doubted that she could afford to lose anymore water.  
  
"How? What did he do?"  
  
Rory looked around at the crowded hall, "I-I'll tell you later. Come home with me today."  
  
"Okay," Erin hugged her friend, who clung tightly to her, "It'll be okay sweetie, don't worry."  
  
HAYDEN'S, THAT AFTERNOON  
  
"And then he handed me a dead rose and walked away." Roy said, sitting on her bed, not looking at Erin. Her friend sat in silence, wondering what had possessed her life long friend to do that to the girl he claimed to love. "Um, I need some water, so-"  
  
"I'll get it," Erin said at once, "You stay here, I'll be right back." She walked slowly down the stairs, stopping and laying her head on the wall behind her. Rory was going to go through hell, she knew that much.  
  
Devin walked up to her, kissing her lightly, "Hey."  
  
She smiled sadly, "Hey."  
  
"What's wrong with Rory?"  
  
"She didn't tell you?"  
  
"No. But Tristan was acting really weird today, did you notice?"  
  
"Yeah, that's because he dumped her."  
  
"HE WHAT?!"  
  
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" she said, glancing up at Rory's closed door.  
  
"He dumped her. Badly. He made it clear that she'd never meant anything to him and was just a piece of ass. She's really in hell right now."  
  
Devin shook his head and walked towards the foyer, "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to figure out what happened."  
  
"I told you. He dumped her."  
  
"I know that. But you know something happened to make him do it."  
  
"Yeah I guess."  
  
"You know he lied about her not meaning anything."  
  
"Yeah, but she doesn't."  
  
"God, she's so blind."  
  
"Yeah, but I think that he was very persistent."  
  
"I never thought he's be able to kill himself like that."  
  
"I never thought he'd do it to Rory's either." Erin said, and Devin nodded, walking out the door.  
  
TRISTAN'S ROOM  
  
There was a knock on the door. Tristan rolled his eyes, he was in the middle of packing, "I said I don't want to talk to you guys!"   
  
The door opened, "Yeah, well I sure as hell want to talk to you." Devin walked in, glaring at Tristan.  
  
The blond sighed and sat on his bed, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Yeah, you better be. But my God Tristan, what the hell happened?"  
  
"I-I had to."  
  
"Okay, why?"  
  
He shook his head and stood up, walking to the window. "I'm moving."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My parents want me to move in with them. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Tristan, why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey I'm moving, and daddy dearest has commanded me to sever all ties and forget about my life in Boston?' No. I couldn't."  
  
"So that's why you dumped her?"  
  
Tristan turned to face him, "That's all she told you? That I dumped her?"  
  
"No. She didn't tell me anything. Erin just now told me that. And I came to you for the rest."  
  
"You wouldn't understand."  
  
"Yes I could."  
  
Tristan sighed, "I don't want you to hate me, Dev. You've been my best friend for years. And my whole life, you've stood by me, no matter what. But now, with these circumstances, you know what they say, blood is thicker than water."  
  
"I came to hear it from you."  
  
"I was a dick. That's all I can say."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"A bunch of shit."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Oh, you know, I said I played her, that she was a piece of ass, along those lines."  
  
"And she believed you?"  
  
"Obviously."  
  
"And your father made you do it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I've gotta say, I never thought you'd have the balls to tear your own heart out and best the shit out of it."  
  
"Yeah, well, things change."  
  
Devin sighed and walked over to Tristan, "Look man, you're my best friend, always will be. And who knows, maybe this is how it was supposed to be."  
  
"Yeah, maybe."  
  
"Well hey, I have to go. Homework and shit, but just so you know, I will miss you, and I know Rory will too, no matter what she says, she loves you. And I will TRY to cope with what happened. But just make sure you don't forget us, aight?"  
  
Tristan smiled and nodded, "Aight."  
  
They hit knuckles slowly and did a brotherly hug. Devin smirked, "It won't be the same without you."  
  
"Of course it won't, I'm the king, remember?"  
  
Devin laughed, "Yeah. You are. Other than me of course."  
  
Tristan smirked, "You wish Hayden, you wish." It was their normal conversation, but it was slower than usual. More dragged out and morbid. Both dreading the end. Devin sighed, "So, I might never see you again, so, you know. Not to get all lovey, but I really will miss you. You've been my best friend since I was six. And that won't change."  
  
Tristan nodded, "Same here. After all, who could take the place of one of us? I mean, it's just not possible."  
  
Devin smiled sadly, "Never has been, never will be." He hit Tristan on the shoulder, "Out."  
  
Tristan nodded, "Out." he put his hand on Devin's shoulder and smiled sadly. His best friend of nine years nodded and turned, walking away, ending a chapter in their lives. Tristan. 


	19. Mirrors and The Dark

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Some things have to be believed to be seen.- Ralph Hodgson  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Devin walked back into the house to find that Erin had left. Rory was sitting on the window seat in the library, staring out at the stars. He walked slowly to sit beside her, he saw that she had tears threatening to spill over her eyelids. She turned to face him, "Devin?" she whispered.  
  
"Yeah?" he said back, whispering as well.  
  
She opened her mouth, wanting to form words, but they didn't come easily. "Just please don't say 'I told you so'." she said, biting her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.  
  
He shook his head before wrapping his arms around her, "I never would." he said as his little sister cried into him. He let his mind wonder while her tears soaked through his shirt and hit his chest. He wondered what kind of hold Tristan had over his sister that he made her cry like this. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her cry before meeting Tristan, and now her emotions were in a constant whirlwind, but Devin knew that she'd needed Tristan. Rory sat slowly back up to look at the window after a few minuets. Devin looked at her in surprise, her tears seemed to have stopped momentarily. "So, what did Tristan say?"  
  
Devin froze, "What?"  
  
"What did Tristan say?" she repeated monotone.  
  
He played dumb, looking at her as if she were confused, "What are you talking about?"  
  
She rested her head on the cold glass, "You're a shitty liar, Dev."  
  
"I'm not lying."  
  
She shook her head, "You smell like his room. I'm not stupid, Devin."  
  
"I know. You skipped a grade."  
  
"I'm serious, what did he say?"   
  
He fidgeted beside her, shrugging, "We just talked."  
  
"Obviously. But what did he say?"  
  
Devin looked down to his hands, "He's moving."   
  
Rory closed her eyes, "I know."  
  
"He told you?"  
  
Rory laughed bitterly, "He worked it in there, right along with the part about how he'd forget me, but I couldn't forget him."  
  
Devin bit his lip, not wanting to judge either one, "I'm sorry."  
  
Rory felt bitchy and wanted to take her anger out on someone, and seeing as how Devin was the one closest to her, he was taking the blow. "I don't want pity." she snapped.   
  
"Good. Cause I'm not giving it." he said back. Rory looked taken aback that he'd snapped back. They sat in silence for a moment until Devin asked quietly, "Did you really believe him?"  
  
"Obviously I did."  
  
Devin sighed, shaking his head, "Why? You know how he feels about you."  
  
Rory closed her eyes, "No, I THOUGHT I knew how he felt about me." she said quietly.  
  
He groaned, "Rory, you KNOW how Tristan feels about you."  
  
"Right, whatever."  
  
Devin shook his head, "Rory, he loves you. And his father made him cut all ties in Boston."  
  
Rory looked at her hands, "Well if he really loved me that much then he would at least have told me the truth."  
  
"Would you honestly have been able to let go?"  
  
Rory shot him a look that said plainly 'don't go there.' Before laying her forehead back on the window.  
  
"Look, I'm not about to pretend that I always wanted you and Tristan to be together, because I didn't. I didn't want my little sister dating the player. I didn't want you to fall for him unless he fell too, and he did. No one thought you two stood a chance in the beginning. But you two fit, you beat the odds, and hell, we're only in ninth grade, but who says people our age can't be in love Rory? I never saw it coming, I never thought either of you would ever fall in love, but you did."  
  
She kept looking to the window as the rain started, "A lot of people say we can't fall in love at our age." she whispered.  
  
"But you did Rory, you did. And I'll be damned if my little sister and best friend throw away what they could have had because of what the world thinks."  
  
Rory shook her head sadly and said in a quiet voice, "It's not what the world thinks. It's what he thinks. It's the fact that he thought it was important enough to break up with me. Devin, you know me better than to say that I care what people think of me. It's what Tristan thinks needed to be done, and he did it."  
  
"There's no way he meant it!"  
  
She faced him, tears streaming down her face, "You know, I didn't want to believe it either. But if you could have seen him...Devin, his eyes were empty. There was nothing there. No emotion. If you could have heard what he said then you would have believed him too."  
  
"My God Rory! Don't be so naive! You know perfectly well how society works. You know that for years he's worn a mask. In fact, you saw it when you first came. He puts on a facade for the world, to make them think he's fine and can't feel. But you know better Rory, you know him. He let the wall around his heart fall with you, you saw him and you loved him, YOU know who he is. You've seen him vulnerable and you accepted his weaknesses, strengthening him, and he saved you from your demons. You two have something that you can't just ignore and push to the side. It's something bigger than you. Tristan dropped his guard and let you in, and when you accepted the offer you signed something in blood. He's your first love, your his. That won't just go away."  
  
Rory's eyes darkened, "And Michelle."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"He let his guard down with Michelle and let her in too."  
  
Devin shook his head, "Did you listen to anything I said?"  
  
"Yes I did, but it's obvious that he let his guard down with her too!"  
  
"Okay, look, I'm going to say this and you will be quiet and listen to me. No rolling your eyes or cutting me off, all right?"   
  
She nodded, "Sure."  
  
"Okay, now listen: Tristan dated Michelle, as you know. He NEVER said he loved her. You know that too. There was a false rumor that he never bothered to correct because to Tristan, Michelle wasn't even worth the trouble. She was gone, moved to Georgia and he was left to be a victim of the rumor mill, like he always was. I mean Rory, you've heard rumors around here, and if the rumor has to do with someone getting laid, who takes the fall? Who's blow is three times worse? The more popular one, right?" she nodded, wondering where he was going. "Well guess what? Tristan was more popular than Michelle. She said she loved him, but we all knew it was a lie. She was drunk and wanted something solid, and she thought that if she fell in love with him, then Tristan would be the rock in her life. Well, he didn't love her and she was trying to make herself fall in love with him in the process. It didn't work. He never said it to her, all right? He never let her in. You got that?" she nodded again. "Now, Ror, let me ask you a question: Who said 'I love you' first, you or Tristan?" he stopped, showing her he was done and waiting for an answer.  
  
She opened her mouth and let it hang for a moment, "Tristan."  
  
Devin smiled, "Exactly. In Tristan's eyes, Michelle was nothing compared to you. He really does love you , Rory. He's doing this because he's confused and doesn't know what other option he has. But I swear to you, you were never a conquest to him. I know for a fact he's told you more than he's told me, and I've known him for years. You're something special." he finished with a smile, wanting to uplift Rory's spirits. She smiled, it looked real, but it was just another trick she'd learned from being the proud granddaughter of two of the most respected families in New England. She'd even gotten so good she could have fooled almost anyone, except Devin, and Tristan.   
  
Her brother pursed his lips sadly and kissed her forehead, "Hey, so, I have a project due tomorrow, but I'll come by your room and talk to you tonight, okay?" She closed her eyes and nodded as Devin got up and hugged her briefly before walking upstairs.   
  
Rory wasn't sure how much longer she'd sat there, who knew? It could have been anywhere from fifteen minuets to two hours. Time passes at a strange pace when you're reminiscing. She sighed and stood up, her body protesting at the movement. Apparently she'd been sitting here for longer than she thought, because according to the clock on the mantle, it was 12:30am. Rory rubbed her eyes and looked again. It read the same. She shook her head and exited the room.   
  
Her feet trudged slowly up the stairs. Her legs seemed detached from her body, she glanced at her feet and didn't recognize them. They didn't belong to her. Something was wrong. These were happy feet. She wasn't happy. You could tell things about people by their feet. If the feet looked worn and blistered, they were athletes. If they were pedicured and smooth, most likely a nice teenage girl was the owner. Her own, or rather, the ones attached to this strange body, which wasn't hers either, looked like happy feet. They were pale, like the rest if the skin covering her weak and drained body. They were small, in proportion with her petite form. But they were not blistered or callused, which was how she was feeling.   
  
Rory looked into a mirror in the hall and saw the strangest thing. Herself. Was this what it was like to have an out of body experience? She saw a thin girl staring back at her. The girl was barefoot and had on a pair of pink pajama pants with Rainbow Brite scattered over them. She was wearing a white tank top with a large rainbow on the front. The girl's hair was long and the color of dark chocolate, except for where purple was easier seen. Rory stared at this reflection and the girl in the mirror stared back. The silver chain reflected in the mirror glinted in a dim light, cast from the small music box sitting on a table as decoration, leaving half of the mirror girl in shadow.   
  
Most people didn't like the dark, even if they weren't scared of it. They preferred to have light, because you never know what is lurking until you see it, or rather, until it wants you to see it. But she wasn't scared. Little children believed in monsters, teenagers didn't like to not know what was going on when they couldn't see. And adults...what were adults scared of? She decided it really didn't matter what adults were afraid of. If something scared you, then the dark always knew a way to find it, no matter how deep it was buried into your brain. It would be pulled from the abandoned chambers where you stored unwanted information, and your own mind would betray you. Turn against you and torment you until you were crying for the release of sleep.   
  
No, the dark was not something that she believed people would have chosen to create, if it hadn't been here already. In fact, wasn't it probable that darkness was created before light? and if so, wouldn't that make it older? Darkness was older than time itself, and it amused Rory that people thought they could escape it with artificial light. If you suddenly felt a chill run down your spine, it was because you remembered how it felt that night you couldn't sleep. You lay in bed, scared to move, for fear that whatever was in the dark was waiting for you. You remembered that instant of terror when your own mind betrayed you and released your darkest fear to the night, and tormented you, that one moment when you decided death was better than not knowing what lay just beyond the small circle that the green numbers of your clock illuminated.  
  
But Rory didn't mind the dark right now, she may have preferred light, but at the moment, the dark didn't bother her, because she always figured, if she can't see in the dark, why should whatever was in it be able to? If the darkness prevented her from finding a light switch, what justified the fact that her fear was able to find her? She had reasoned that long ago, and she'd stuck to it.  
  
Once more she studied the girl in the mirror. Her face was one of pain. The skin was unnaturally pale and around the eyes it was swollen. Her sapphire eyes were surrounded by the red of bloodshot. She surveyed the smeared eyeliner the girl hadn't taken off before she'd started crying by the looks of it. Mascara left thick lines of black where the girl's tears had fallen. The eye shadow was long forgotten by rubbing hands, trying to dry the constant tears. She sighed and shook her head, wondering what had happened to the girl. To her surprise, she girl's head shook too, as if she felt sorry for the girl on the other side of the mirror, Rory. Rory's head tilted, identical to the movement the girl made. And to her surprise and horror, she realized something. The girl standing in the mirror was her. It was her own eyes which were bloodshot and swollen. Her own eyeliner and mascara were smeared from crying. She had a face laced with pain, worthy of bringing tears from anyone.   
  
Suddenly she felt very small and scared, wanting to back away from this image that couldn't possibly be her. She wanted to forget she'd ever seen it. All at once the darkness rushed in at her and she was surrounded by the pure terror of it. She felt her spine shrivel and wanted to fall back onto a bed where she could be protected by warm covers. Her own mind had betrayed her secret to the dark. And her fear could see in the dark.  
  
Rory was overwhelmed with a sense of being watch and her mind tried to go blank, but she held it in place. She just needed to get down the hall, and she'd be safe in her room. But in order to get there, she'd have to go through twenty five feet of darkness, and twenty five feet didn't seem like much, but when your demons were bloodthirsty and only you could quench their desire, twenty five feet was a journey, and a deadly one. Rory slowly counted to five before bolting down the hall, running headlong into hordes of mental horrors. She had to remove the thing that held her captive, the thing that was like a magnet to her nightmares, the only thing that she'd recognized in that strange reflection. A thin, silver chain hanging from her neck. 


	20. Charly's Story

A/N: Sorry about the HUGE wait, I had total writer's block for this story, but it's gone now. So, anyways, I don't own Miss You by Blink 182 or The Nightmare Before Christmas or Gilmore Girls.   
  
Rory laid on her bed Sunday afternoon, staring at the wall, she'd been in the same position for almost the whole day, unmoving and barley blinking. She hadn't eaten anything in two days. The stereo had been drowning on and on through the first four CDs she put in and now the fifth was playing. She groaned and rolled over, it was one of her favorite songs, but this had also been one of Tristan's favorite bands.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hello there the angel from my nightmare  
  
The shadow in the background of the morgue  
  
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley  
  
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want  
  
Where you can always find me  
  
We'll have Halloween on Christmas  
  
And in this night we'll wish this never ends  
  
Wish this never ends  
  
Don't waste your time on me you're already  
  
The voice inside my head   
  
Don't waste your time on me you're already  
  
The voice inside my head  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~   
  
  
  
Devin walked in and sighed upon seeing his sister laying on her back. "Rory, you need to get up."  
  
She shook her head, "No, I don't think I will."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
She paused the stereo, "You know," she said, ignoring his question, "I think that The Nightmare Before Christmas could be a parallel to my life."  
  
"What? Rory, The Nightmare Before Christmas is about a skeleton who gets tired of Halloween and decides to steal Christmas, that is not a parallel to your life."  
  
"It could be. See, the way I figure, Tristan would be like Jack, he's tired of me, the parallel to Halloween. Or, I could be like Sally. She's in love with him, but he never sees. So he wants something new and challenging, maybe like Christmas, or Connecticut-"  
  
"Rory."  
  
"I mean, maybe I got to the point where I just laid down for him, and he got bored. I mean, that wouldn't really be that unlikely, would it?"  
  
"Rory-"  
  
"Because in the beginning I think I was a challenge to him, and I might have gotten to the point that I was just boring-"  
  
"Rory!"  
  
"So now he's leaving and finding a Christmas to have-"  
  
"RORY!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"He never got bored of you. He new that you were in love with him and he loved you back! You were always a challenge to him, even up to the point that he left. You never laid down at his feet, trust me, I was there the whole time!"  
  
"So then what happened?" she asked, not looking away from the wall.  
  
Devin sat on her bed, "He just, left. His father made him. He never left just to leave. He never did what he did to hurt you. It just-" he thought for a moment, "Happened."  
  
"Well why didn't he try harder to stop it?"  
  
He looked at his sister thoughtfully, "I think that by then he'd given up."  
  
"On me?"  
  
"On his life."  
  
Rory's head turned to face her brother, "What do you mean?"  
  
"Rory, the guy doesn't exactly have the best home life in the world."  
  
"His aunt and uncle love him."  
  
"And so do his parents, but they're too caught up in their own lives to notice him."  
  
"And I couldn't help him?"  
  
"No. You definitely helped him." she looked at him, unconvinced, "I'm serious. You saved him and shocked us all, Ror. We thought he'd never change, but you proved us all wrong. I mean, he is my best friend, but I know what a player he is, better than anyone. But I also knew he could feel. That's probably a confession I owe you."  
  
"What confession?"  
  
"I used you and Tristan both. I used you to help Tristan and I used Tristan to help you. So, I'm really sorry."  
  
She turned over on her stomach, "There's nothing for you to be sorry for."  
  
"I did use both of you."  
  
"I knew that."  
  
"You did?"  
  
Rory sat up, "All along. I know how you think Devin. I knew what you did."   
  
"You did?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Devin, you're not that good of a liar."  
  
"I'm not?"  
  
"Not to me."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Oh my god, you gotta stop that."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Hm." she laid back down on her back, "I'm gonna go to sleep."  
  
"Alright, 'night."  
  
"'Night." Devin walked out, closing the door behind him. Rory closed her eyes and curled up into a ball, playing the music again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Where are you and I'm so sorry  
  
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight  
  
I need somebody and always  
  
This sick strange darkness  
  
Comes creeping on so haunting everytime  
  
And as I stared I counted  
  
Webs from all the spiders  
  
Catching things and eating their insides  
  
Like indecision to call you  
  
And hear your voice of treason  
  
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight  
  
Stop this pain tonight  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Rory sat up suddenly, wondering what had awoken her. She turned in all directions before hearing a tap on her window. She stood up and walked over, opening her balcony door to see Zack with a small rock in his hand, about to throw it. "What do you want?"  
  
"To talk to you."  
  
"Well I don't want to talk to you."  
  
"Can you come down?"  
  
"Sure I can. But ask me if I'm going to."  
  
"Why not?!"  
  
"Because I just don't like you."  
  
"You don't even know me."  
  
"Zack, go to hell."   
  
"Why?" Rory turned to walk back in, but he called after her, "Wait!"   
  
She turned around, "What?!"  
  
"I'm sorry, okay?!"  
  
Rory's eyebrow arched wryly, "Go on."  
  
"I shouldn't have tried to break you and Tristan up. But...I liked you and I didn't like Tristan."  
  
"You lied to me about Michelle!"  
  
"I stretched the truth slightly."  
  
"Like I said before, go to hell Zack."  
  
"Look, just talk to me, alright?"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"To talk."  
  
"Go away."  
  
"Please!"  
  
She opened her mouth, but changed her mind, "Fine. What?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"The clock's ticking."  
  
"So...I heard Tristan broke up with you."  
  
"Right, I'm leaving now."  
  
"Wait, no, I didn't mean to offend you."  
  
"Go home Zack."  
  
"Will you out with me?"  
  
Rory froze, eyes wide, "What?!!"  
  
"Will you go out with me please?"  
  
"Hell no!"  
  
"Why?!"  
  
"Where have you been for the past three months? Do you not remember you practically ruining my relationship with Tristan?"  
  
"Yes, I remember. I had a huge bruise on my back from where he slammed me into the lockers five times."  
  
"And you deserved it."  
  
"Can we please start over?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't want to be your friend, I don't like you and I don't want to be around you, go home Zack."  
  
"Please-"  
  
"No!" Rory slammed the door and locked it, closing her eyes and laying down, she buried her head in the pillow.  
  
Monday morning, Rory was sitting in front of her vanity, trying to French braid her hair, but seemed to be having a lot of trouble. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." she called. The door opened and one of the maids appeared. "Oh, hey Charly." Rory said, looking at the middle aged woman in the mirror.  
  
"Need some help?"  
  
"Could you?" Rory tried to smile, but failed. Charly nodded and walked over, grabbing a section of Rory's hair, and, with gentle hands, began to braid the girl's hair. Charly was by far one of Rory's favorite of the hired help in her home. She was silently loving, almost like a mother. She was kind, but firm, and often the disciplinarian. She'd been working for Chris since he and Lorelai got a divorce, and had almost been like a nanny to Devin when he was a child. Now she was more of a friend. She was the best listener Rory had ever met, never interrupting and only giving her opinion when it was asked for.  
  
Rory looked through the mirror at her, silently contemplating. After a minuet, she asked, "Charly?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Have you ever been married?"  
  
The woman's head raised slowly to look at the fourteen year old's face in the mirror, "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I'm sorry, it's kind of a rude question, but, I'm just wondering because you don't have a wedding ring, and you don't have children. I'm sorry, you don't have to answer, if you don't want to."  
  
Charly sighed, "Oh, Miss Rory, you know I'll answer any question you ever ask me." Rory tilted her head. "Keep it straight, unless you want a crooked braid." her head snapped back into place. "And to answer your question, yes. I was married. I also almost had a child." Rory looked surprised, but didn't move her head, "When I was sixteen, I met a boy." she smiled at the memory, "He was eighteen. My cousin was marrying his best friend, I was the maid of honor and he was the best man. So, naturally, we danced at the reception. We were together the whole night, but it ended, and he asked for my phone number, promising to call me."  
  
"Did he?" Rory asked, perking up.  
  
"Oh yes, all the time. We talked almost everyday for the next year, he became one of my dearest friends. And then, on my seventeenth birthday, he asked me to be his girlfriend." Rory smiled, "Of course I said yes. He was the best man I'd ever met. But we had to see each other in secret. You see, he was very wealthy, and I was only middle class. His father wouldn't have approved. We dated for a year, and it was the happiest time of my life. And on my next birthday, he proposed." Rory could see that she was lost in memory, Charly's eyes didn't leave Rory's hair as she switched sides, to do the left braid. "So, I was eighteen, and engaged. Then, one week later, I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't figure out how to tell him, so I was going to wait until the opportune moment.   
  
We had planned to elope and run away. He had a large trust fund that we could live off of until he finished college." her eyes darkened, "And we did get married, two weeks after I took the pregnancy test, but then he changed his mind. He asked for the ring back, told me it was over. He said that I wasn't good enough for him and told me it had just been a fling, that now he was thinking clearly and he saw that it was all wrong. I was so confused that I threw the ring at him and stormed off with out a second thought. I cried myself to sleep for over a month after the divorce was final. And then his sister called. She was my age and had been a friend of mine for a little while.   
  
She told me the truth. He had loved me, and still did. He said those things because their father had found out we'd gotten married, and had arranged a marriage for him. He was engaged to a girl he'd never met before, and they were getting married to seal a contract and combine two companies." her eyes clouded over, tears lining them slightly, "I didn't go to the wedding, but I saw it in the paper. He looked happy, and so did she." Rory looked at the woman's sad face, feeling sympathy. "I swore that I'd never love a man the way I'd loved him. I never even looked at a man again."  
  
"Did you ever talk to him again?" Rory asked, wide eyed.  
  
"Once. He called me one year later. He told me how sorry he was, and that he would have contacted me earlier, but it hurt too much." tears were running slowly down Charly's face, "He told me his wife was pregnant, and that he wished it had been me. We talked for almost an hour and then said our last good-byes."  
  
"What happened to your baby?" Rory asked, her stomach clenching.  
  
Charly looked down, putting the hair tie on the second braid, "I had an abortion, I couldn't handle having a child on my own at eighteen."  
  
"Did the pain ever go away?"  
  
Charly shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid not, never completely." Rory looked at her face in the mirror, she was only forty, and Rory had always known she was attractive, and had thought she looked young for her age, but was just noticing the aged lines of etched sadness on the woman's radiant face. Her wise green eyes seemed tired and full of a sadness Rory had never looked for before, and her tan skin didn't seem to fit her as tightly as it usually did.  
  
"So, you never got remarried?"   
  
She shook her head, "I swore to myself I'd never fall in love again, that I'd never let myself get hurt like that again. So I never gave anyone else a chance. I could have felt the same about someone, but I didn't want to. And it's one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made." she patted Rory's shoulder and turned to leave.  
  
She was halfway to the door when Rory asked, "What was his name?"  
  
"Jon Parker." she didn't turn to face Rory.  
  
"Whatever happened to him?"  
  
"Last I heard he tried to commit suicide, but failed. His wife was pregnant from having an affair with his business partner and his fifteen year old daughter was moving in with her twenty year old boyfriend."  
  
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you two had stayed together?"  
  
"Everyday.  
  
"Do you think both of your lives would have been better?"  
  
She turned around, "I've had a good life, Rory. I don't pretend like I haven't. Your father has been as good to me as a brother. For the past eleven years Devin has been like a son to me, and for seven months you've been like my daughter. I have a loving family, because that is what I consider this house, Rory. No, I don't think my life would have been better with him, just different. Maybe a little less lonely."   
  
She turned to leave, and got to the doorway when Rory called after her, "What was the other mistake you've made?"  
  
She stopped, but didn't face Rory, "Killing our child without telling it's father it ever lived." and with that, Charly walked out, leaving Rory to contemplate her words, and the parallel it held to her own life. 


	21. Free Fall

Rory stared up at the ceiling, unmoving. Her radio was blasting, but she wasn't exactly listening. For the past week all she'd been able to think about was Charly's story. Something about it wasn't right. She just couldn't put her finger on it. It was so much more serious than her problem, and Charly hadn't said it as a lesson to her. She may have loved Tristan, but it wasn't as if she couldn't get over him. She was fourteen years old for Christ's sake! It wasn't like her life was over, or her husband of twenty years had left her! Her boyfriend of five months had left, that was it. She sighed and laid her head back on the pillow. She was pitiful, that much she knew. She was wallowing, something that was simply unacceptable. Then she just stopped thinking. Her mind was completely blank, until Korn came on the radio. She rolled over and screamed into her pillow.   
  
A few seconds later her slammed open and Devin stood there, looking around wildly, "What's wrong?"  
  
She lifted her head to arch her eyebrow wryly, "Devin?"  
  
"Are you okay?" she nodded, he looked around her room, still unsure, "Did you scream?" his eyes fell on his little sister. She scowled. "What?"   
  
She shook her head, "Nothing."  
  
Devin looked around, trying to figure out what was wrong with her when his eyes fell on the stereo and understanding dawned on him as he realized who was on the radio. He nodded, "Ohhh."  
  
"I just can't get over him, and it's been two weeks I'm like a fucking needy little..." she trailed off, waving her hands, unable to think of a word strong enough, "Little girl who can't do anything for herself and needs a boyfriend! I do not need a boyfriend!"  
  
Devin looked at her with sad eyes, "Ror, can I give my suggestion without having my head ripped off?"  
  
She pursed her lips, thinking it over, "That depends on what you say."  
  
"I think you need to cry."  
  
She froze, "Excuse me?"   
  
"You need to cry." he repeated.  
  
She held one finger up, "I have. I did, don't you remember?"  
  
Devin walked over and sat on her bed, "Not for very long."  
  
She snorted, "Crying is crying. It doesn't matter how long you do it for."  
  
"Then if you don't want to cry, why don't you just move on?"  
  
"I told you, I can't!"  
  
Devin tilted his head, studying her, "Fine. Don't take my advice, or do. It's your choice." and with that he stood up and walked out, closing the door behind him.  
  
WHITLAND, NEXT MORNING  
  
  
  
Erin walked up to Devin before homeroom, "What's wrong with her?"  
  
He looked at his girlfriend, confused, "Who?"  
  
"Rory."  
  
"I wasn't aware that anything was wrong with her."  
  
She put her hand on his shoulders and spun him around so his back was to her, and Rory was in his line of vision. Rory and Allie. "That looks alright to you?"  
  
Devin's eyes widened, "No."  
  
"Well what happened to her?" Erin turned him back around so he was facing her again.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Did you say something to her?" she prodded, trying to find anything.  
  
"No."  
  
"Are you lying?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You didn't say anything about Tristan?" she asked, waving her hands around.  
  
"Um..." he trailed off, not wanting to say anything.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I might have said something along the lines of moving on." he said uncertainly.  
  
"Devin!" she yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You-you don't just TELL her to move on! Her boyfriend lied to her and moved away for god's sake! She's hurting!"  
  
"Erin, she hasn't been herself! She hasn't been talking! She won't do anything. This is completely ruining her and it shouldn't, she's fourteen years old. It's not like they were married or something!" he yelled back. Erin screamed and threw her hands in the air. Devin shook his head, "What am I supposed to do?! You think I LIKE seeing my little sister hurting like this? Because I don't. I don't want him to effect her like this! It's not normal for someone to feel like that, and it pisses me off. She doesn't let people get to her. Ever. And he did. I can't control her, you know!"  
  
Erin shook her head and covered her mouth, "Why is she hanging out with Allie? If you two are so close, tell me that."  
  
"I can tell you why I THINK she is, but I can't give you a definite answer."  
  
"Then tell me what you think."  
  
"She wants to forget about us."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She wants to get all new friends, and loose her old ones. You all remind her of Tristan, something she wants to forget. She thinks that if she starts hanging out with Allie, she won't have to remember him and be reminded of what she lost everytime she turns around."  
  
Erin breathed in deeply, closing her eyes, "That's what it is?"  
  
"That's what I think it is."  
  
"Why would she change completely because of that?"  
  
Devin shrugged, "She's just like our mom. She's in a free fall, none of us can help her until she wants to be saved. And she doesn't."  
  
Erin nodded, "I have to go." she pushed passed him.  
  
"Erin," he called after her, "Erin!" she kept going, not looking back.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Devin walked up the front steps after school to see Rory swinging back and forth lazily in the porch swing, right leg pulled to her chest and her chin resting on the knee. Her left leg was bent and laying flat on the seat, under the arc of her right leg, cigarette in hand.   
  
Devin sighed and walked over until he was directly in front of her, "What are you doing?"  
  
"What's it look like I'm doing?" she didn't look up.  
  
"You hate smoking."  
  
"I did hate smoking."  
  
"You coughed so much you almost died the first time you inhaled."  
  
"I know, thank you very much." she took a long drag and blew the smoke to the right of her brother. "What do you want Devin?"  
  
He sat beside her, "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Nothing. I'm moving on, remember?"  
  
"THIS is how you planned on moving on? You stop talking to all your friends and hang out with people you previously hated?"  
  
She looked up at him, "People I previously hated that weren't friends with Tristan."  
  
"Rory, he was my best friend, all of your friends, they were friends with him before you came here. They're gonna remind you of him. And in case you don't remember, the whole school was in love with him. And after you came, you two practically ruled the Freshman and Sophomores. And the only reason you never talked to upperclassmen was because we're in two different buildings. He was a big part of your life, he was a big part of all of out lives, and we were all hurt when he left-"  
  
"But he didn't yell at you and call you a whore either." she whispered.  
  
Devin stopped his rant cold. His eyes fell on his sister, sometime during his speech, her head had found it's way back onto her knee, eyes downcast. He sat in silence, unable to think of anything to say. He looked away, "No...he didn't."  
  
She nodded, "Didn't think so."  
  
"It's just...Rory, I don't want to see you hurt like this. And you really think that hanging out with Allie and Bailey will help?"  
  
She shook her head, "No. But I don't care." she stood up and dropped the cigarette, walking into the house.  
  
WHITLAND, FRIDAY  
  
"So, the party's at JJ''s, but you'll just spend the night with me afterwards, right?" Allie asked, smiling at Rory.  
  
"Um, yeah." she nodded, tired of the girl's voice.  
  
"Good, so do you just want to come home with me after school?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Okay, great. I'll see you later." Allie and Megan walked away, and Rory went to her seventh period, groaning. After the class got out, she walked to her locker, only to see Allie standing there, waiting. Rory breathed in deeply and plastered on a smile, walking over, "Hey."  
  
Allie whipped around, "Hey. So, since all of us have dates for the party and you don't, I found you one."  
  
Rory's fake smile faltered, "You did?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Um...who was it?"  
  
"You'll see tonight."  
  
"I will?"  
  
Allie nodded, "You will."  
  
"Great." she said, Allie missed the sarcasm.  
  
"Come on, let's go." Allie grabbed her arm and they walked out of the school together.  
  
ALLIE'S, THAT NIGHT  
  
"Here, try this on." Kelsey threw a tight black top to Rory, whose eyes widened, but she pulled it on anyway. The other girls looked at it, shook their heads, and told her to take it off. She tried on three more tops before they were all satisfied with a pink halter top and black jeans.   
  
It was ten thirty when they got to the party, and as soon as they walked in, Allie beckoned someone over. "So, who's my date?" Rory asked, looking around.  
  
"Right here." Allie said as the boy walked up. "Rory, I think you know Zack." Rory turned around and her jaw dropped to see Zack Jackson standing in front of her, a smug smirk firmly in place. 


	22. Paul

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I like the kids who fight against how they were brought up  
  
They hate the trends and think it's fucked to care  
  
It's cool when they piss people off with what they wear  
  
-Blink182  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
ONE WEEK LATER  
  
Rory leaned against the wall, looking around at all the people who'd come to this lame ass party. Last week hadn't been completely horrible, just not ver good at all. And she hated to admit it, but she was missing Erin and all her friends. Zack reappeared at her side and he handed her a plastic cup, not explaining what was in it. She looked up at him, eyes narrowed, but he wasn't looking at her, his head was up and he was staring at the people dancing. She shook her head and set the cup on the table beside her. She'd learned from Tray and Kaleb at her first party in Boston to never drink anything given to you by someone you didn't trust, especially if it was open. And she definitely didn't trust Zack.  
  
"I want to go home." she said.  
  
He looked down, yelling over the music, "What?"  
  
"I want to go home." she repeated, yelling.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't like this party."  
  
"You should stay."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know any of these people."   
  
"You know me and Allie."  
  
Rory sighed, "You know what? Never mind. I'll find a way by myself."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I'm smart. I'll figure something out." she walked away from him and out the doors, looking around. Her house was about fifteen miles away, and there was no way she was about to walk that far. Rory sat on the hood of a black BMW, looking around hopelessly. She laid down and looked up at the stars. It was around midnight and unlikely that she would find anyone who was sober.  
  
"Having fun?" someone asked. She sat up, and relaxed to realize that it was someone she'd seen before, and he looked alright.  
  
"Blast." she said sarcastically.  
  
"Rory, right?" the guy asked. She nodded, trying to remember him. "I'm Paul Mahadey. We've never really met technically, I'm a Sophomore."  
  
"Oh, hi." she said uncertainly.  
  
"I'm surprised you're here."  
  
"Some of my friends wanted me to come. I'm actually trying to figure out how to leave."  
  
"I could give you a ride."  
  
"I don't think so." he'd offered a little too enthusiastically for her liking.  
  
"Oh," he looked slightly put down, "Why not?"  
  
"Look, I'm sure you're a great guy and everything, but I've had enough with guys and-"  
  
"Oh no," he cut her off, "You think I'm coming on to you?"  
  
"Well, I..." she closed her mouth, embarrassed.  
  
"No. Trust me, you're cute and everything, for a fourteen year old, but I have a serious girlfriend, but she couldn't make it tonight. Plus I have way too much respect for Devin and Tristan to pull anything." he sounded completely honest, and a little amused.  
  
"Oh, well I just feel stupid now-"  
  
"Don't. I understand why you'd think that. The truth is, I just want an excuse to get away from here."  
  
"You're JJ's brother." she said as the last name dawned on her.  
  
"Yeah. It's not really something I'm proud of."  
  
She laughed, "I see why."  
  
"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his head, "so, how about that ride?"  
  
She looked him over, he had on baggy black bondage pants with blue stitching and a blue shirt, and Etnies. She nodded, "Thanks. Are we taking your car?"   
  
He shook his head, "There's no way we're going to be able to get it out of the garage. I'll be right back." he went inside, reappearing a few minutes later, keys in hand, "we're gonna take my friend's car." he led her to a car near the back of the line and unlocked the door for her.   
  
She climbed in, and after a few minutes she asked, "It's your party, shouldn't you stay?"   
  
He shook his head, "It's not my party. It's JJ's." he grinned, "My parties are better."  
  
Rory laughed, "I don't doubt it. So, why are you sober?"  
  
He laughed, "My girlfriend couldn't make it, and I don't do anything if she's not going to be there. Don't want to regret anything."  
  
"I know what you mean."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She shrugged, "At the second party I went to, Tristan got drunk and wound up becoming victim to Allie."  
  
"She's vicious."  
  
Rory laughed, "Tell me about it. So, you don't get along with your brother's friends?"  
  
"Definitely not." they sat in silence, Rory staring out the window until he said, "My question is, why do you?"  
  
"What?" her head snapped around to look at him.  
  
"They've made your life hell. Why do you like them so much?"  
  
"Don't you think that's kind of personal?"  
  
"Maybe a little, but that doesn't mean you can't tell me."  
  
She shrugged, she felt comfortable around him anyway, "I guess they're completely different than my old friends. And that's what I want."  
  
"Well, I think you made a mistake."  
  
Rory stared at him scrutinizingly, "Why?"  
  
"You changed completely for one person. Life's not worth that."  
  
She looked out the window, "No, it's not." they sat in a heavy silence for a few minutes, "So, who's the girlfriend?" she changed the subject.  
  
"Her name's Amy Miller."  
  
"Oh, I know her. Short soccer player with black hair?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"She's in my fifth period. She's sweet."  
  
"Yeah, she is." they pulled into Rory's driveway, and he stopped the car.  
  
She turned to him, smiling "Thanks for the ride, and for being my motivational speaker."  
  
"Anytime. Thanks for giving me an excuse to leave."  
  
"No problem." she opened the door, "Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Rory walked up to the door and opened it slowly, waving at Paul. Devin glanced up at her from his place on the couch, "That was quick."  
  
"Let's just say it wasn't quite my crowd." He nodded, but said nothing else to her. She sat down beside him, and he just stared at the television. "Are you mad at me?"  
  
"I'm not mad. Just disappointed."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You've changed. You're streamline. You've conformed."  
  
"I am not streamline. And I have not conformed"  
  
He rolled his eyes, "Look at yourself Rory, I'm not saying it's the clothes, because someone can dress like that and be completely genuine, or someone can dress in bondage, but be doing it for everyone else. What I'm saying is that it's your entire attitude. Your friends. You're changing who you are."  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Yes, Rory, yes you are! You used to be fun. You used to do whatever you wanted with no fear of consequences. You used to say 'fuck authority'. You used to like pissing people off, and you used to listen to good music! Now, you never talk to me anymore, you're always with those fucking sluts, you don't do whatever you want, you do whatever they want, you actually listen to teachers and their parents, and you've turned into a model citizen! And you watch, dare I say it? MTV! We do NOT watch MTV in this house!"  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that we're the stereotype of 'punks' and 'rebels'? Because that's what you just described! I do whatever I want Devin, and maybe that's what I want to do!"  
  
"It's not Rory. I know you, better that you know yourself, and I KNOW that that's not what you want!"  
  
"You don't know what I want."  
  
"Rory, we know you're over Tristan, just please stop this!" she didn't reply, just turned forward, arms crossed over her chest. Devin growled from the back of his throat, but turned as well, his arms crossed too.  
  
After fifteen minutes she mumbled, "For what it's worth, I had a horrible time."  
  
"Did you?"  
  
"Yes. They have lame parties. They suck."  
  
He turned towards her, "I could have told you that."  
  
"You should have. I was about to die. I finally got a ride home-"  
  
"Who gave you a ride?"  
  
"Paul Mahadey."  
  
"Ah. Now tell me again about these stupid parties."  
  
She laughed, "Well, first of all, the music was pointless..."  
  
MONDAY, WHITLAND  
  
Rory walked slowly to Erin's locker, looking up at her apologetically. She closed her locker, surprised to see Rory. "Do you know how often I apologize?" she asked.  
  
"Not very often." Erin said.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"You don't talk to me for almost two weeks, you chose the resident sluts and your enemies over your best friends, and now you expect me to talk to you and forgive you?"   
  
"I was hoping." Rory said sheepishly.  
  
"I swear to god, Lorelai Hayden, if you EVER do anything like that again I will NEVER forgive you!" Rory grimaced, looking down, Erin smirked, "Now that part's over, we can get back to the important things. Tell me, how much do their parties suck?" Rory laughed, and Natalie and Katie walked up nervously, not yet sure if the two girls had made peace. Erin looked at them, "I think we have her back." she said. The two looked at Rory who shrugged and nodded.   
  
They smiled, "I think the last two weeks of school are going to be extremely fun." Natalie said as they started down the hall to homeroom.  
  
LUNCH  
  
Allie walked up to Rory, "Hey."  
  
"Hey." Rory said, she couldn't just start being a bitch to Allie all of a sudden. That would be wrong.  
  
"Aren't you going to sit with us?"  
  
"No, actually. I'm sitting with Erin today."  
  
"Oh." it was obvious she'd wanted to sit together, but not if Rory's old friends were involved. "Um...I guess I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye." Rory walked to over to Erin, Katie, and Natalie and sat down.  
  
"What was that?" Natalie asked, eyeing the other girls, who were obviously talking about them.  
  
Rory shook her head, "Nothing. She just wanted to know if I was sitting with them or not."  
  
"Are you still going to hang out with them?" Katie asked.  
  
"God no. I have no idea how I lasted that long."  
  
"Did you keep the same music?"  
  
"Some. But I also listened to their music."  
  
"So you're not just going to stop talking to them?" Katie asked.  
  
"Don't you think that's wrong?"  
  
"Not really. If you don't want to talk to them anymore then just don't. Do you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then don't."  
  
Rory glanced at their table and saw that they were staring. She rolled her eyes, "Did I ever act like that?"  
  
"No." all three said at once, and ended up laughing.  
  
HAYDEN'S, AFTER SCHOOL  
  
Rory sat in the living room, talking to Kaleb and Tray. They were trying to explain why it was funny to watch the football players practice. "They wear tights."  
  
"It looks like they're doing ballet."  
  
"They try to look all macho for the girls and cheerleaders."  
  
"And they suck. They never win."  
  
Rory laughed, "That is so cruel."  
  
"But it's funny."  
  
"And you know it's true."  
  
"Yeah...but that doesn't mean I voice my opinion."  
  
"Please, you voice your opinion whenever the hell you want to."  
  
"So? That's not the point."  
  
"Then what is?"  
  
She sat still for a second, looking at them, "I don't know. I'm confused." The two boys burst into laugher, and it was like she'd never left. 


	23. Enter Vicky

Devin stared down at the history text book on his bed, trying to decide how important this homework assignment really was when his cell phone began to ring from the nightstand. He leaned over, picking it up, "Hayden house of pimps and hoes, how may I help you?" he asked, and since it was his phone he didn't have to worry about getting his ass chewed out for 'insulting on of Christopher's associates.'  
  
"So a lot's happened in a month, eh?"  
  
Devin's eyes widened, "Tristan?"  
  
"The one and only....actually, there's probably more than one Tristan in the world, but of course none as amazing and good looking as-"  
  
"Except for me of course...but I'm not named Tristan, so never mind."  
  
"And that was completely off the subject."  
  
"It's part of my charm. And might I ask to what I owe the pleasure of this conversation?"  
  
"The truth is...I'm dying." he said over dramatically.  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"Yes. I'm going to this school Chilton, and oh god, no one listens to good music. It's all rap and pop shit. Oh, but a few know about Good Charlotte or Blink 182 or Linkin Park, someone every single person in America has heard of. Not that I don't like Linkin Park or Blink, because I do. None of them have heard of half the bands we listened to. Finger Eleven? No. Seether? No. Finch? No. Something Corporate? No. Shadows Fall? No. Phantom Planet? No. Nine Inch Nails? No. Story of the Year? No. Box Car Racer? No. Mest, Sugarcult, Lostprophets? No. Bowling For Soup? Less Than Jake? No. It's horrible, I am dying!" he finished dramatically.  
  
"Are you done?" Devin asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm done."  
  
"Okay, good. Anyway, sorry I can't do anything about the people there. But you'll be happy to know that Spastic is dead." Devin said, referring to their band.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"We lost our lead singer."  
  
"But you can sing."  
  
"Not as well as you."  
  
"That sucks."  
  
"Yes it does." he changed the subject, "And I'm not stupid. Why, after a whole month, have you finally decided to call? Why did you wait so long?"  
  
"Because I didn't know what to say."  
  
"What gave you inspiration?"  
  
"I was bored and everybody here is so fucking innocent it annoys the shit out of me."  
  
"I thought so."  
  
"You know me too well."  
  
"Sadly, yes."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Yes master."  
  
"So, how's everybody been?" Tristan asked, changing the subject.  
  
Devin let a beat of silence pass before he replied, "Rory's good."  
  
"She is?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What about Kaleb and Tray?"  
  
"Bored as hell, but we only have a week of school left and all of us are going to Key West for two weeks. Tray's grandparents live down there."  
  
"Nice."  
  
"Hell ya."  
  
WHITLAND  
  
"Yearbooks." Erin said, tossing one to Rory on the last day of school.  
  
She smiled, opening it on her lap, "Fun. Ahh." she laughed upon turning to the Freshmen pages and seeing her picture. "Why are yearbook pictures always the worst?"  
  
Erin shrugged and sat down next to her, opening her own, "Let's see what's in here." she began flipping through pages, "Hmm, don't care, don't care, I skipped all the days with pep rallies, Homecoming sucked..." she said, turning the ones with pictures of past school events, "Ahh, here's one with us." she said, surprised.  
  
"What?" Rory looked over.  
  
"Umm, page 108, 'What Students Do In Their Free Time'. It's us at Element."  
  
Rory got to the page and grinned, there was a picture of the band playing and then one of them dancing in couples. Rory read the caption aloud, "Element, A very popular teen rock club in Boston, plays live music twice a week. Even our very own Tristan Dugrey, Devin Hayden, Kaleb Mackey, Tray Crispino, Garrett Livingston, and Josh Ring play there. Playing music is a good way to spend the weekend and keep kids out of trouble." Rory laughed, "Right, like playing music ever kept them out of any trouble. I think it might have GOTTEN them in trouble a few times."  
  
"Yeah. Like the assembly incident. I'm guessing these were made before that." Erin laughed at the memory, "That was great, really. I think it'll go down in the history books. Calling a fake assembly."  
  
Rory grinned, "They're crazy."  
  
"I guess it rubs off on you." Erin said absentmindedly, looking at the pictures.  
  
"Just a little. But on you more than me."  
  
"Hey!" Erin laughed, pushing her playfully.  
  
CHILTON  
  
Tristan sat on one of the walls outside after school. Austin Greene was talking about the last football game with Will Maddox and Mac Fowler, and Summer Chestin was talking animatedly to Francie Madley and Vicky Gilmore. Gilmore...damn that name sounded familiar, he just couldn't figure out where he'd heard it.  
  
He couldn't deny he was attracted to Vicky physically. Sandy blonde hair, about the color of Devin's. Green eyes, a slim build, probably about four inches shorter than him. The problem was, she followed every rule she was told to, she didn't listen to good music, she rolled her skirt up so much that it was almost halfway up her ass, and all of her clothes looked like they could fit a ten year old. Although physically he was attracted, she had nothing on her mentally. She couldn't put up a good argument and she giggled like hell.  
  
He sighed, "I'm bored." he picked up Vicky's purse and started to look through it.  
  
She giggled, and pulled out her phone, "Here, play with this."  
  
He rolled his eyes and took it from her, "Let's see who Vicky has in her phone." he said, scrolling through the contacts, which were listed in alphabetical order:  
  
Adam  
  
Alix cell  
  
Ashley Cell  
  
Ashley Home  
  
Austin  
  
Dad Cell  
  
Dad Home  
  
Darcie  
  
Devin Cell  
  
Tristan paused, eyes wide. He pushed the button marked 'details'. Sure enough, Devin's full name: Devin Christopher Hayden; Birthday: 3-18-84; and phone number: 909-563-1803. He breathed out deeply and cursed mentally, so that's why the name Gilmore sounded so familiar. It was Devin and Rory's mother's maiden name. The same name Devin's twin was given. That was great, he had Devin and Rory's sister's phone in his hand, and, already guessing it would be there, he scrolled down until he was to the R's. Sure enough, it said 'Rory Cell' right there for the whole fucking world to see. He clicked on the 'details' button for Rory.  
  
Name: Lorelai Leigh Hayden  
  
Birthday: 2-19-85  
  
Phone number: 909-563-4028  
  
He glanced up, "Hey, Vicky?"  
  
"Yeah?" she looked away from Summer.  
  
"Who's this?"  
  
She looked at the screen, "Rory? Oh, that's my sister."  
  
"You have a sister?" Austin asked, turning away from Will and Mac.  
  
"Yeah. I also have a twin brother, Devin. He's in there too. But they live with my dad."  
  
"I didn't know that. How come you never told us?" Mac asked.  
  
"They live in Boston. You'll probably never meet them."  
  
"They live with your dad?"  
  
"Actually, up until a few months ago Rory lived with my grandparents, but she moved in with my dad."  
  
"How old is she?" Francie asked.  
  
"She's fourteen. Eleven months younger than me and Devin."  
  
"You don't sound very happy about it." Will said.  
  
Vicky shrugged, "She's my sister, so I love her, but we've never gotten along. She listens to a lot of bands I've never heard of," her nose wrinkled, "and she's kind of punk rock slash goth. Like my brother. They get along better than I ever did with either of them." she sounded slightly upset about the last part.  
  
"They live in Boston?"   
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Tristan,"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Didn't you move here from Boston?"  
  
"I did..." he trailed off, looking at Summer calmly.  
  
"Did you ever meet them?"  
  
His heart stopped, "Boston is a big city."  
  
Summer studied his face for a moment before answering, "That's true. Sorry. So I guess there's no chance you ever saw them?"  
  
He shook his head, "It's not likely."  
  
"Oh." she sounded slightly put out, but turned back to Francie and Vicky. Tristan exhaled a breath he'd been unconsciously holding. Rory's sister. This wasn't good.  
  
ONE WEEK LATER  
  
Rory walked out into the spacious back yard, knowing where Devin would be. She was barefoot, the skirt of her knee length black dress moving as it slid across her thighs. Not surprisingly, her brother was sitting against a large tree, blocked from view of the house. He was wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He stared at her feet as she stopped in front of him.   
  
She kneeled in front of him, frowning, "I thought you didn't do that anymore."  
  
"You knew I was lying just to make Erin happy." he said, pulling the end of the bowl from his mouth and handing it to his sister, along with the lighter. She took it and closed her mouth over the nozzle. She lit the bowl of it and inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in before blowing it out slowly.   
  
She frowned again and handed it back, "You lied to her."  
  
"Ror, I need it. We have to stand a whole dinner with Emily and Richard Gilmore, AND Vicky. We really need it. Mom won't be that bad, or dad's parents, but they'll be horrible. You need it too." he hit it again.  
  
"But I didn't tell anyone that I wouldn't do weed anymore."  
  
"That's because you did it with Tristan." he said, handing it back.  
  
"And you've done it with Erin."   
  
"She doesn't like it, though."  
  
"I know. I won't tell her." she lit it and inhaled deeply, using the last of it. Devin started to get the baggie out of his pocket, but she put her hand over his, "We can't get stoned. Only high."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Devin, our parents were bad growing up. They would know."  
  
He sighed and dropped the bowl and bag into a small space in the tree trunk. She grabbed the eyedrops they kept in the tree trunk and told Devin to lay on his back, she dropped two in each of his eyes so that they wouldn't be red. He did the same to her and they went inside. They sat in the living room, waiting for their families to arrive.   
  
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and the maid answered it. Chris walked into the room, waiting for whoever was at the door to come in. Rory glanced at Devin and grinned, causing him to smile as well. She looked away from him, grabbing her drink and taking a piece of ice in her mouth, only to drop it back into the glass. She laughed, doing it again. Devin grinned, watching her. Chris looked between them, suspicious, but said nothing as his parents walked into the room.   
  
"Rory!" Francine said loudly, hugging her granddaughter. Rory smiled, hugging her grandfather next.  
  
"And Devin." she smiled, enveloping the other child before hugging her son. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again, and Emily and Richard walked in. Rory looked at her brother through the corner of her eye. He had on a grimace that could pass for a grin, and they prepared to let the torture begin.   
  
Half an hour later, they were all sitting at the table, having polite conversation, all except for Lorelai, who'd been forbidden to speak after she started talking about midget strippers. At the moment she was looking at her plate and playing with her food, acting like a reprimanded child. She and Chris continued to hit feet under the table, he was trying to get her to look up and get yelled at, and she was trying to get him in trouble like she was. They were like six year olds.   
  
Rory and Devin had been exchanging smirks all night, but neither had spoken to their sister. They weren't worried about her or their grandparents noticing that they weren't their normal selves. They'd smoked in situations where they'd needed to be able to hide it, so they learned quickly, but their dad saw them every day. He may notice. Vicky sighed, tired of being silent. "So, Rory,"  
  
She looked up, "Huh?"   
  
"Is there a guy?"  
  
"Where?" she looked around before laughing.   
  
Vicky's eyebrow arched, "I mean in your life. Do you have a boyfriend?"  
  
"Luckily, no."  
  
"Why luckily?"  
  
"Well, see, I had a boyfriend, but that didn't exactly work out." she said, waving her hand around.  
  
Devin shook his head, "Nope, nope, nope, didn't work."  
  
"What happened?" Vicky asked.  
  
"He moved, but not before acting like a huge jackass and-"  
  
"Watch your language, Lorelai." Emily said sharply.  
  
Rory shook her head, "Never mind, I'll tell you later."  
  
"Okay..." she trailed off and they all fell into silence.  
  
"So, is everyone done?" Francine asked. There was a round of nods, "Then why don't we move to the sitting room?"  
  
They all stood up, exiting the dining room and making their way to the next room. Rory sat in the loveseat, soon joined by Devin, who was followed by Vicky. Lorelai, Emily, and Francine sat on the couch while Richard, Straub, and Chris sat in recliners.  
  
"So," Emily said, starting conversation, "pray tell why we were all called to your lovely home tonight, Christopher."  
  
"Well, Lorelai and I have been talking for a few weeks and we've come to a decision."  
  
"Which would be..." Francine trailed off.  
  
"Next month the company needs me to leave for five months, I'll be in Paris setting up a branch there." Rory and Devin looked at each other, both being able to guess where this was going, and neither liking it. "We decided that Rory and Devin don't need to go, so they'll be moving to Hartford with Lorelai."   
  
Rory shot out of her seat, "Dad, no!" while Devin stood as well, voicing his opinion just as loudly.  
  
"Guys," Lorelai said, "come on, I'm not that bad."  
  
"No, it's not you, it's just, I am not moving to a different state." Rory said, "We could move back to Maine. I know people in Maine. I don't however, know anyone in Hartford."   
  
"I'm sorry, sweetie, the decision has already been made. If there was any way around this trip then I'd take it, but I have to go." Chris said, obviously sincere.  
  
"When do we have to go?" Devin asked.  
  
"You're moving three weeks after you get back from Key West."  
  
"You're going to Key West?!" Vicky cried, obviously upset. "Why can't I go, dad? Why does Devin get to go?"  
  
He rolled his eyes, looking at his twin, "Rory's going too."  
  
"Why can't I go dad?"  
  
"Sorry, Vic, their friend Tray invited them. His grandparents live down there. I'd let you go if I could."  
  
She sighed, sinking back into the chair, "Oh well. Anyway, you guys, Hartford isn't that bad. The people at Chilton are actually great."  
  
Devin turned on his sister, "Did you just say Chilton?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"What am I missing?" Rory asked, looking between the two twins.  
  
"Chilton. I know I've heard that before."  
  
"Who-"  
  
He shook his head, "I'll explain later."  
  
"Alright..." she trailed off uncertainly.  
  
Rory opened her mouth to protest again, but she froze, eyes wide, and shook her head as a though dawned on her. "Hartford.....oh god no. Uh-uh. No way."  
  
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, looking at her granddaughter with question.  
  
"I-I can't." she looked at Devin. "Hartford?"  
  
He nodded, "Chilton." locking eyes with his younger sister, and that was all it took for her to understand.  
  
"No way." she breathed. Devin nodded. "How do you know?"  
  
"He called me a few days ago." they were talking so quietly that no one else in the room could hear them.  
  
Rory's eyes narrowed, "You didn't tell me."  
  
"What would have been the point?"  
  
"Are you two quite done with your little club meeting of which you seem to feel as if the rest of the world should be left out on?" Emily asked, looking at Francine, who in turn shrugged.  
  
The two teens whipped around to look at her, "Oh, yes. Sorry grandma." Rory said, sitting down, followed closely by her brother. Chris and Lorelai finished explaining everything. Rory and Devin were leaving for Key West in four days. When they got back, they would be home for three weeks, and then they would leave for Hartford. Their Sophomore year would be at Chilton Preparatory Academy, and they would attend social dinners at the country club practically every month. At the mention of this, Lorelai pretended to hang herself with an imaginary rope, causing Devin to smirk, Rory to grin, Chris to chuckle, and Emily to frown.   
  
But Rory's grin slowly faded as she turned to her brother, the adults still talking. Devin looked at her as well. In just a month, she'd be in the same town as Tristan. In a few months, she'd be at the same school as him. After everything he put her through, after everything he'd said, she was going to see him again. She must have been horrible in the past to have gotten such bad karma. Chilton might not be that bad, but then again it could be hell. She'd just have to wait and find out. 


	24. Again With The Soap Operas

Rory sat in the plane, Tray beside her, next to the window, and Erin on her right. Devin was on the other side of Erin, and Garrett, Katie, Josh, Kaleb, and Natalie were in the aisle row beside them. She laced her fingers so that one was under the rest, and it looked normal until you counted them, and only nine were showing. She turned to Tray, "Count my fingers."  
  
He laughed, "What?"  
  
She grinned, "Count my fingers."  
  
Tray looked at her hands, "Nine..." he flipped her hands over, "Ten."  
  
Rory's eyes narrowed, "I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
He grinned, "You're such a loser."  
  
"No, just bored." Rory said, leaning back in her chair. He laughed, rolling his eyes. Rory grabbed his CD case, flipping through it. She skimmed the titles absentmindedly until she saw a black disk with green lines snaking over it, "Edgewater? Why does that sound so familiar?" she asked.  
  
Tray shrugged, "Listen to it. You'll like it, trust me." She slipped it out and popped it into her player.  
  
Yeah you're shaking now Falling out and you can't take it Just breathe in Breathe out Let it flow  
  
She relaxed into her seat, closing her eyes.  
-------  
  
Rory felt someone poke her in the side, but she ignored them. Again, she felt it, but just scooted farther away. A few seconds passed and no one touched her, so she thought that Tray had decided to leave her to sleep, but realized that she was wrong when something wet entered her ear and was out just as quickly as it entered.  
  
Rory screamed, sitting up in surprise to see her smirking friend, "TRAY!" she yelled, hitting him in the head.  
  
He only laughed harder as she wiped her ear viciously, "What?" he faked innocence, wiping his finger on the seat, "You wouldn't get up."  
  
"If you EVER do that again, I will KILL you!" she growled.  
  
Tray grinned, "Noted. We landed almost five minutes ago."  
  
She sighed, rolling her eyes, and grabbed her bag, following Erin into the aisle. She knew he was still smiling behind her, so she turned, throwing her bag to him. He caught it on instinct. He looked up at her, confused, "What's this?"  
  
"My bag. Your punishment is to carry it." Rory turned back around and began walking.  
  
"And if I don't?"  
  
She turned, "Care to expand on that comment?"  
  
"What if I just leave it here?" he asked, laying it on the seat.  
  
Her eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't. All of my favorite CD's are in there, and you don't have a death wish."  
  
Tray sighed, "I just don't know." he looked around, "I'm thinking that for this, I deserve a reward." his gaze fell back on her.  
  
She smirked, "But Tray, you do get a reward."  
  
"Do I?"  
  
"Yes. I'm not going to kill you for waking me up, now come on bag boy, we're gonna get lost from everybody else." and she turned following the path that everyone else had gone, they were the last two on the plane. Tray just shook his head, following her.  
----  
  
"And there it is." Tray said as the limo, it was the only car that could hold all nine of them, pulled into a huge driveway.  
  
"Two weeks with minimal supervision." Katie said, looking around at her friends.  
  
Garrett grinned, "Huge pool."  
  
"Private beach." Kaleb added.  
  
"Jet skis." Devin smirked.  
  
Natalie grinned, "With no rules."  
  
"And anything we want five minutes away." Josh said, looking at the others.  
  
"Hell yeah." Erin said, staring at the huge estate.  
  
The driver came around and opened the door, all of them pilling out. Rory was the last out, and she grinned, jumping onto Garrett's back, surprising him so that he almost fell over, but caught himself. She laughed, and began singing, "Oo-ee-oo, I look just like Buddy Holly-"  
  
Erin began jumping around and joined her, "Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore!"  
  
Natalie and Katie grinned at each other, coming in at the same time, and all four girls sang, "I don't care what they say about us anyway, I don't care 'bout that! I don't care 'bout that! Bang, Bang, knock on the door, Another big bang and you're down on the floor. Oh, no, what do we do? Don't look now but I lost my shoe. I can't run and I can't kick. What's the matter babe, are you feeling sick? What's a matter, what's a matter, what's a matter you? What's the matter babe are you feeling blue?!"  
  
Rory busted out laughing, jumping down from Garrett's back. "Uh, Ror? What's so funny?" Devin asked.  
  
She shook her head, "I have no idea."

---------------  
  
Rory jumped onto one of the two queen sized beds in the room she was sharing with Erin. "Can you believe this house?" she asked.  
  
Erin shook her head, "Can you believe this entire place?"  
  
"No." Rory said, looking around the room. There was a knock on the door, but before either girl could get it, Devin and Kaleb entered. Their room was right next door.  
  
"This place is awesome." Kaleb said, grinning.  
  
"Hell yeah it is." Devin jumped onto Erin's bed, laying down. She sat beside him, and Kaleb sat beside Rory.  
  
A few moments later, Natalie, Tray, and Katie came in. "So, what do you think?" Tray asked.  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell us your grandparents had a place like this?!" Erin asked, grinning.  
  
Tray laughed, "They just moved in a couple months ago."  
  
"Oh, you're forgiven then."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. So, what were we planning on doing today?" she asked.  
  
"Sleeping." Garrett said from the door as he entered the room.  
  
"Swimming." Josh said, following Garrett in.  
  
Tray grinned, "And for those of us who are single-"  
  
Rory cut him off, "Looking for hot guys."  
  
"Well, I was gonna say girls, but sure, why not?"  
  
Rory laughed, "Aww, I always knew you were that way."  
  
**-----------------------  
  
ONE WEEK LATER**  
  
"So, this is what heaven is like?" Erin asked Rory, looking over at her best friend as she used her hand to shade her eyes from the blaring sun.  
  
Rory smiled, not opening her eyes, "If only Kurt Cobain were here."  
  
Erin laughed, "I still can't believe you think he's so hot."  
  
Rory smiled, turning to face her and squinting, "Yeah, well Matt Davies?"  
  
"Hey, Funeral For A Friend is a kick ass band. You love them too, and don't deny it. Besides, Matt Davies is extremely hot."  
  
"I like the band, but the guy is ugly. But come on, Nirvana is one of the most amazing bands ever. They practically define the grunge era."  
  
"So he is kind of hot, but I'm not a big fan of guys dying their hair pink."  
  
Rory just laughed, "I think it was hilarious."  
  
"Chris Carrabba?" Erin asked her.  
  
"Hello! Dashboard Confessional. Hot emo guy singing about heart break with huge eyes, how can you not think he's hot?"  
  
"He's a whimp!"  
  
"Says the girl who loves Andrew McMahon."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Oh please, Something Corporate is so emo."  
  
"They are not."  
  
"Sure. You just can't admit an emo singer could be hot."  
  
Erin shrugged, "I only speak the truth."  
  
Someone blocked out the sun and the two girls looked up to see Devin and Garrett, "Come swimming."  
  
Erin rolled over on her back, "Go away."  
  
"You know, tanning causes skin cancer." Garrett told them.  
  
Rory looked up at them, "That's great, but you know what will cause a much quicker death?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"If you two don't go away." Devin looked at the other boy, rolling his eyes as Rory spoke again, her eyes now closed, "Now get out of the way, you're blocking my sun."  
  
"Do they really think we're going to leave them alone?" Devin asked Garrett, and he shrugged, "Well I think they know us too well to seriously think that."  
  
"I HOPE they know us well enough to know we won't go away." Garrett added.  
  
Devin smirked, looking over at Tray and Kaleb, Josh was busy with his girlfriend. He motioned for the other two boys to come over and they did, Tray and Garrett grabbing the head and foot of Rory's long pool chair while Kaleb and Devin got Erin's. They lifted them up and they two girls jumped, both letting out a small scream as the four boys threw them, along with the chairs, into the pool.  
  
They came up gasping for air, coughing and sputtering. "Die!" Rory yelled, splashing them with water once she'd caught her breath. All four of them just laughed, but it stopped as they were all pushed forward, caught off guard, and sent tumbling into the pool. Katie and Natalie cackled gleefully as they jumped up and down doing a happy dance because they were able to push all four boys in the pool, but their laughter was cut short as Josh ran up behind them and grabbed both of them by the waist, jumping into the pool and taking them with him.  
  
Rory watched, smirking. She turned to Erin, who had the same expression, "Well, I'd say we equal complete destruction wherever we go."  
  
"Hell yeah."  
  
**---------------  
  
FIVE DAYS LATER**  
  
Rory and Erin's door was sitting open as they finished the last touches of their makeup. There was a sound of knuckles rapping on the doorframe and they looked up to see Devin, "Ready?" he asked. They nodded, walking out of the room. They got down to the car port and Tray handed them the tickets that his grandparents had ordered a few weeks ago. "Don't loose those." he said, directing it mostly to Rory and Erin.  
  
"Hey. I don't loose stuff."  
  
He rolled his eyes, "Right."  
  
They all piled into two cars. Rory, Devin, Erin, Garrett, and Tray were in one car, while Katie, Natalie, Josh, and Kaleb got in the other. Rory looked down at her ticket, it read **VICTORY RECORDS / NOTHING LIKE HOME TOUR**. And in smaller letters across the bottom it read **'Taking Back Sunday/Hawthorne Heights/Bayside'**. She crossed her legs, looking around at the other four people in the car. She didn't really pay attention to what the guys were wearing, but Erin had on a short faded jean skirt and a black shirt with a silver shooting star across the right side over her stomach. And Rory herself was wearing light blue jeans and a dark green shirt that said 'Living well is the best revenge'.  
  
After they showed their tickets, they made their way to the front as close as they could get. Rory was talking to Natalie and not paying attention to where she was going when she bumped into someone and almost fell over, but he caught her around the waist, steadying her. She turned, "Thanks."  
  
He smiled slightly, "No problem." he was probably about sixteen and had shaggy dyed-black hair. He was wearing jeans and a simple black shirt. They just stood there for a moment and she could tell by the look on his face he was waiting for her to say something.  
  
She shook her head, "Oh, I'm Rory."  
  
He nodded, "Travis."  
  
"Hi Travis."  
  
"Hi Rory."  
  
She felt stupid, but didn't really have anything to say, so just asked, "You live around here?"  
  
"Yeah. You?"  
  
"No, I live in Boston."  
  
"No accent?"  
  
She smiled, "I just moved there a few months ago, I used to live in Maine."  
  
"Ah. You're a long way from home."  
  
"Yeah. A bunch of my friends came down for a few weeks."  
  
He nodded, "Cool."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments until he said out of nowhere, "Midtown?"  
  
She looked up, "What?"  
  
"Your shirt, 'Living Well Is The Best Revenge', it's the name of a Midtown CD."  
  
She smiled, "Yeah."  
  
The lights started to dim and she looked around, it seemed like her friends had left her, but Devin showed up out of no where, "Come on, Ror." he motioned toward the right where she could see all three of the girls watching her.  
  
She turned to Travis, "I'll talk to you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
She made her way after her brother and Erin smirked, "What was that?"  
  
"I fell."  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
"I did."  
  
"He was hot."  
  
Rory nodded, "Yes he was. His name's Travis."  
  
"Too bad we're leaving the day after tomorrow."  
  
Rory looked back to see him talking to about four other people, "Yeah, too bad." she said quietly as Bayside took the stage.  
  
**-------  
  
TWO DAYS LATER  
**  
Rory closed rested her head on the window as the plane slid higher into the air and Florida disappeared under the clouds. Devin saw the sad look in her eyes and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "You alright?" he asked.  
  
She sighed heavily, "I'll tell you after I figure it out."  
  
He smiled weakly, "I know, I don't want to move either."  
  
Rory looked over at him, "You might have to stop me from ripping off Vicky's head a couple times."  
  
"Same for you."  
  
"Yeah right, like I'd stop you."  
  
Rory woke up a few hours later, looking around as the plane landed. She nudged Devin, but he didn't move. "Devin." she said quietly, but he just moved slightly before becoming still again. She rolled her eyes, pushing him so that his head fell and hit the armrest.  
  
He snapped awake, "Shit, Rory."  
  
"You wouldn't wake up. What do you suggest I should've done?"  
  
"Something other than give me a knot on the forehead."  
  
She grimaced when she saw the bright red mark, "Sorry, I didn't know you would die." she stood up as the plane landed, and he followed suit.  
  
**THREE WEEKS LATER  
**  
Rory pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She looked up at Erin, Natalie, and Katie from her place on the closed toilet lid, a towel draped over her shoulders and back as she waited half an hour for the purple dye to set in her hair. Natalie leaned against the wall, "I still can't believe you're really leaving." she said, looking through the open door into Rory's room where all of her stuff was in boxes.  
  
"I know. You just got here a couple months ago." Katie said sadly.  
  
Erin didn't say anything, just looked away and Rory could see tears glistening in her eyes. She felt bad for Erin. She was loosing her best friend and boyfriend at the same time.  
  
"You have to come back and visit."  
  
Rory looked up at Katie, "We will."  
  
Natalie bit her lip, "This sucks."  
  
"Yeah." Rory closed her eyes, resting her forehead on her knees. "Tristan lives there." she said quietly.  
  
All three girls' eyes widened and Erin spoke for the first time, "What?"  
  
She looked up at them, "Tristan lives in Hartford. He goes to Vicky's school. He goes to my school.  
  
Katie shook her head, "Holy shit." she whispered.  
  
Rory nodded, "Yeah. Holy shit."  
  
**----------  
  
NEXT MORNING**  
  
Rory carried her last box to the car, most of their stuff had gotten to Lorelai's the previous night. She climbed into the back seat of her dad's car, Devin climbed into the front seat. He looked back at her and tried to smile, but failed. Chris opened the front door and started walking towards the car. Rory leaned forward, "What happened with you and Erin last night?" she asked.  
  
Devin shrugged, "I'm moving away."  
  
Rory bit her lip, "I'm sorry."  
  
He shook his head, trying to sound like it didn't matter, but Rory knew it did. Erin had been his first love. "Whatever, it doesn't matter."  
  
Rory nodded, leaving it alone, "Okay."  
  
Devin nodded, his voice cracking, "I think I really loved her, you know?"  
  
Rory nodded, "Yeah, I know."  
  
Chris opened his door, "You guys ready?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." Rory said quietly, sliding back into her seat and snapping headphones onto her ears, "We're ready."  
  
**--------  
  
THAT NIGHT**  
  
Rory walked across the hall in the Hartford mansion to Devin's room. She rapped on his door and opened it, grinning to herself to see Vicky sitting on his bed and talking while he played his acoustic guitar, obviously trying to block her out. He looked up and smiled at her gratefully. Vicky looked up as well, "Hey Rory." she said happily, standing up and scooting over so her sister could sit on the bed as well. Rory forced herself to smile and sat beside her. She wasn't as high pitched and annoying as she used to be, but Rory still wanted to shove a metal beam through her perfect while toothed smile sometimes. "I like your hair." she said, referring to Rory's purple streaks. "Your too, Devin." she said about his blue tips.  
  
Devin obviously was ignoring his twin, so Rory replied, "Thanks." and then smiled sweetly, "We could do yours too."  
  
Vicky's eyes widened, "No thanks."  
  
Rory nodded, "Yeah."  
  
"So, last time I saw you I asked you about a boyfriend, anything changed with that?" she asked.  
  
Rory shook her head, "No. You?"  
  
"Yeah, actually, but my boyfriend is visiting family and won't be back until the week before school starts."  
  
Rory nodded, "Oh. Too bad."  
  
"Yeah. I know, right? Anyway, my friend Summer and I are going to a movie tonight, want to come?"  
  
"No. I'm good."  
  
Vicky nodded and looked at Devin, who shook his head, "No."  
  
His twin sister looked taken aback at how cold he sounded and Rory shook her head, he was going to be in a bad mood for a while after what had happened with Erin. "Okay, well I'm gonna go get ready, so I'll see you two later." she slipped off the bed and walked out of the room.  
  
Rory looked at Devin who sighed and started playing again. "This sucks." she said quietly.  
  
Devin shook his head, "She doesn't even know us. I can't be her best friend."  
  
"You don't have to. I'm not. But we have to at least try."  
  
He looked away, and Rory glanced around his room to see a picture sitting on the floor beside him. He'd obviously been looking at it before Vicky had come in. Rory looked closer and saw that it was a picture of Erin. Her long, dark brown hair with thick blonde highlights was down and she wasn't looking at the camera, instead, her bright green eyes were looking to the right of the person holding the camera and her head was tilted, not smiling or frowning, but just having that amazing, natural beauty that had captivated her brother.  
  
Rory looked up at him and saw that he was looking into space, not paying attention to her, and she closed her eyes moving to sit beside him, and she leaned her head on his shoulder as he played his guitar slowly. That was when Rory realized that she had something special in her brother. They were closer than he was to his own twin. It was a picture perfect moment, too bad their life had more drama as a daytime soap opera.  
  
_A/N: Thanks for your reviews, and I won't take you through the entire summer. Next chapter Tristan will come in and they'll start Chilton. Review, and it'll motivate me. Later, darlings._


	25. Shocking Revelations

**_There are two tragedies in life: One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.- George Bernard Shaw_**

Rory sat on Devin's bed, watching him tune his guitar. She sighed, "Okay, is it just me, or do you think it's stupid that we can't take the test to get into Chilton until the week that school starts?"

"Yes, they are idiots who cannot realize that not only will we be at a new school, but we will be behind everyone because they have already started classes, because we have to take the test on Tuesday, and the final results won't be in until Monday of the next week and we can't start until Wednesday of the second week that school starts, so yes, they are complete imbeciles who should burn in hell." he dead panned, not looking up. She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, "No, I'm not mocking you, that's really what I think"  
She laughed lightly, laying down on the bed, "Well, I think so too."

"Besides, neither of us wants to go anyway, so I vote we just fail the test on purpose."

Rory sat up, "And go where? Besides, even if we did, mom would know that we did it on purpose."

Devin started to say something, but his door was pushed open and Vicky bounded in, "My boyfriend's on his way." she jumped on the bed beside Rory, "I can't wait, you guys will like him a lot."

The Haydens exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes, "Will we, Vicky?" Devin asked.

"Yeah. He should be here in about fifteen minutes." she stood up, "I'm gonna go change." she stood up to leave the room, but turned in the doorway, "Oh yeah, and mom wanted me to tell you two that she wouldn't be home for another hour." and she walked down the hall, humming under her breath.

Rory rolled her eyes and Devin pulled at an imaginary rope at the back of his neck. "She never shuts up about him. And have you ever noticed how she hasn't once said his name?" Rory asked.

Her brother nodded, "Yeah, I actually did notice that. It's really weird with how much she obsesses over him."

"I'm gonna go downstairs. Mom wants me to start taking piano lessons again, so I need to go see how much I remember."

Devin shook his head, "Please, you could play Mozart in your sleep. You were in the top three of Maine last year."

Rory smiled and walked out of his room and down the stairs, sitting at the grand piano in one of the many rooms on the first floor. This one just happened to be right next to the foyer. Rory sat nervously, playing the scales to warm up. She hadn't really played since she moved to Boston. Pulling out one of the books from the basket on the shelf, she opened the book of Mozart's classics, opened it to a random page, and started to play. She was a few minutes into it when someone knocked on the door loudly, interrupting her playing.

"Damnit!" she yelled, standing up and walking into the foyer. Vicky was running down the stairs, a wide smile on her face. But Rory wasn't happy. One thing that annoyed her more than anything was when someone interrupted her playing. Usually she could ignore it, but she hadn't played in so long and she'd kept messing up the song, so she was annoyed anyway. She grabbed the knob,  
twisted it, and threw open the door, "What?!" she yelled, "What was so important that you had to come and interrupt my..." she trailed off as she recognized him, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. "Tristan?" she whispered at the same time that Vicky yelled, "TRISTAN!"

Rory gasped sharply and slammed the door, turning to rest her back on the heavy door. "Oh my God.." she whispered, closing her eyes. at the same time that Vicky shrieked, "OH MY GOD! He's even hotter than when he left. How is this possible....and, why did you close the door?" she asked,  
puzzled.

Rory shook her head, "Um, nothing, I just..." she trailed off, "Nothing." she turned and gripped the handle, twisting it slowly and pulling open the door.

Tristan was leaning against the door frame, rubbing his eyes as if he had a headache, but his head shot up as the door reopened just enough so that he could see Rory. She rested her head against the other side of the doorframe and they just stared at each other for a moment. "You look different"  
she said quietly, and it was true. The green was out of his hair and it was completely blonde and longer than it had been. He was taller than he had been, probably around 5' 10", and he was wearing jeans and a black shirt with something written across it, but she didn't really pay attention to that.

He nodded, "So do you." and it was true, even though she wasn't that different. She'd lost weight,  
not that she ever needed to, but she now had a fragile look that hadn't been there before, and her face was thinner, making her doe eyes look huge. And she'd grown about three or four inches in the past four or five months, and her hair was longer.

"What the hell?" Rory heard from behind her as Vicky grabbed the door and yanked it open. She smiled when she saw Tristan and she jump, wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing his lips to hers. Rory turned away, disgusted. She was reminded of last year when she and Tristan had been in a similar situation.

**_FLAHSBACK_**

Tristan was leaning forward as if he wanted to whisper something in her ear, and Rory was caught off guard when he changed his course and his kiss landed right on her lips. She stood still in shock,  
and Tristan, who thought she was frozen in disgust, started to pull away, muttering an apology. But before he could get any farther away from her, Rory put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him back, crushing their lips together in a hard kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and her hands slid from his face to link together at the back of his neck. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, inviting him in. He turned so that she was the one between him and the tree trunk.

Shit, what have I gotten myself into? She asked herself. Everyone had told her that she and Tristan would date, but they had also said to be careful and not fall too hard. Because she would only get hurt being involved with the school player. But now, with him kissing her like this, every rational thought flew out of her head, forgotten and unmissed at the moment. She was young, too young to feel like this. It wasn't like she didn't know that, she would be the first to admit it. But all that mattered right now was Tristan, her, and the tree supporting her because she knew very well that her legs would give out if not for the solid trunk.

**_END FLASHBACK_**

Rory rolled her eyes, but didn't miss how Tristan pulled away from Vicky quickly. Looking away from her. She was obviously surprised, but didn't think anything of it as she grabbed his hand, pulling him into the house. He cast Rory a sideways glance before following Vicky upstairs. Rory looked at her hands, walking slowly up the stairs and to Devin's room and opened the door. He looked up at her and stood, walking over to her slowly. Tears filled her eyes and she rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

She pulled away, shaking her head, "I really wanted to see him again." she whispered, "But not like this."

Devin looked down at his feet, "Yeah, I know."

_ONE HOUR LATER_

Rory was in her room, blasting music so loud that Devin could hear it perfectly in the kitchen. He just shook his head, this was seriously fucked up. Tristan was NOT supposed to be with Vicky. Back in Boston he mocked the girls like Vicky, and occasionally massed around with them, but never dated them. He was supposed to be with Rory. The fun, wild sister. Not Vicky the annoying brainless one. He almost laughed as he realized what she was playing. Korn. It was probably just to freak out Tristan, because all three of them knew it was his favorite band, even if he'd changed to fit the mold he was now. Devin looked up as the door opened and, speak of the devil, in walked Tristan. The blonde stopped before shaking his head and walking over to sit across the counter from Devin.

He sighed, "Damn."

The other boy nodded, "Yeah. What the hell's going on? Last time I talked to you, you were complaining about these people, and now you're..." he trailed off, "Looking like you fit in perfectly."

"Yeah well, deception always was one of my strong points, wasn't it?" he asked.

Devin nodded, "Yeah, it was. But I mean, come one man, Vicky? She's not your type at all."

"Why do you say that?" Tristan asked.

The other boy shrugged, "She's nothing like Rory." he said simply.

Tristan blew out a long breath, "Yeah. Tell me about it." he looked down at his hands, "It doesn't matter. She hates me now."

"Yeah, and with good reason." Tristan looked up at Devin, who sighed, "You know, I tried to convince her that you had to do what you did. I tried to tell her that you never meant it."

"And what did she say?"

"She said that if you really ever loved her then you'd try to figure out a way to stay with her."

Tristan shook his head, "It never would have worked."

Devin nodded, "Yeah, I know that, but she doesn't."

"So you're not pissed off?"

"About what?"

"Me dating Vicky."

He shook his head, "I'm pissed off that you're hurting Rory, but it's your life. Do whatever the hell you want to. And Don't worry about Vicky, I don't think she even_can_ be hurt." he looked up at Tristan, "You don't actually feel anything for her, do you?"

Tristan shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, God, I was so in lo0ve with your sister, Dev. But Vicky's so different than what I couldn't have with Rory, but at the same time there's something about her that reminded me of her."

Devin shook his head, "I will tell you something, Tris, you are seriously fucked up in the head."

He laughed, "Right back at ya. It IS why we were best friends."

Devin laughed, "And still are."

Tristan looked up, "Yeah?"

Devin shrugged, "I'm a shitty brother for saying that, but yeah. Always. Not to sound like a girl or anything, but I was seriously bored after you left."

He laughed, "Of course you were. I make every day Tristan Fun Day."

His friend rolled his eyes, "Right."

"I'm serious."

"Sure." They were silent until Tristan looked up at the ceiling, listening to the music Rory was playing and he started laughing. "What?" Devin asked.

"She's playing Korn."

Devin smiled, "Yeah. I think it's just to annoy you, because she still can't stand them."

He shook his head, standing up, "That girl's crazy, but I should probably go upstairs before Vicky freaks out."

"Yeah." he said, walking to the fridge and getting out a Coke as Tristan left the kitchen. He left too, walking to his room and closing the door. So, new revelations: Tristan was using Vicky as some weird proxy for Rory, he could now pass for an Abercrombie model, and Rory was actually playing Korn of her own free will? And Devin, as always, had put himself in the middle. Why didn't his life ever make sense?


	26. Out With The Purple, In With The New

_A/N: Okay, so I had people review and tell me that I never update, and I realized that I don't. So this will be the main story I'm working on right now, and I'll try to update a lot more. I apologize. I never realized how much I was neglecting my stories, and even when I did update, the last chapter wasn't up to par, so I hope this one is better._

**_Six days went by _**

**_Trying to forget her face _**

**_It was you and I _**

**_We were too young for these games _**

**_And all the pictures that I kept _**

**_And all the things I should have said....  
-Sugarcult_**

It was uncomfortable in Emily and Richard Gilmore's dinning room on Saturday night. Rory, Vicky, and Lorelai were on one side, across from Devin, and to Rory's dismay...Tristan. Her grandparents, mother, and sister were carrying on conversation as normal, oblivious to the other three who were strangely silent. Vicky just carried on talking, "-and school starts back on Monday. I know you wanted me to run for class office, but I think Paris Gellar will run for class president, and I can't run with her. I'd go insane."

"Victoria, you don't always like the people you're associated with, but you have to realize that liking someone does not drive you in life. Your ability to cope does." Richard told her.

She looked down, smiling gently, "Yes grandpa, I know." Lorelai looked at her father, her jaw dropped in disbelief as she shook her head at him.

Emily, sensing dangerous waters, changed the subject, "So, Rory, Devin, how are you liking Connecticut?"

"It's..." Devin trailed off, and Rory could tell he was thinking about one thing- Erin. "...it's fine." he said quietly.

"Is something wrong?" their grandmother asked.

He looked up at her, "No, Grandma."

She obviously didn't believe him, but she didn't push it, "What about you, Rory?"

She cleared her throat, not expecting the wrath of hell to turn on her, although Emily was being surprisingly laid back tonight, "It's-" she breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as Tristan looked up at her, "-great, grandma." she said dully.

"You don't sound like you really think that." her grandfather challenged.

She looked up, "It's just a big change, that's all."

"Yes. It's quite different from Boston." Emily moved her gaze to Vicky's boyfriend, "Tristan,  
doesn't your aunt live in Boston?"

Rory bit her lip, not moving her head as her eyes darted towards him, and Tristan looked up at Emily, "Yes ma'am."

"Didn't you live with her before you moved here?" she asked, and Rory saw Devin's lip twitch,  
trying to hold back laughter.

But her brother had to hold back a grunt of pain as Tristan kicked him in the shin, but she was the only one who noticed, "Yes, I did."

"Did you know Rory and Devin?" she asked.

Devin snorted into the glass he'd been drinking out of, almost spilling the water down the front of his shirt, and Tristan looked between them, not meeting Rory's eye, "They look familiar."

"Didn't you three go to the same school?" Vicky asked.

Rory answered her, "Whitland's huge. There are a lot of people there that we didn't know."

"Oh." Vicky smiled at Tristan, but he had trouble returning it.

"You two are surprisingly mellow." Lorelai said to Rory and Devin.

"Tired." the said in unison.

She nodded, not believing them for a second, "Ah."

Richard stood up, and seeing as no one had touched their food in five minutes, he announced,  
"Vitoria, why don't you go show Rory and Devin your grandmother's rose gardens? They've never seen them."

She nodded standing up, "Sure." she jerked her head towards the back door, "They're out this way."

The other three stood slowly, Rory and Devin glancing at each other before following her out. Rory took a deep breath, steadying her voice, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll catch up you guys."

Vicky shook her head, "We can wait."

"No, go on."

"Okay..." she said slowly, "The gardens are just out this door and to the right. Just follow the path"  
Rory nodded, turning down the hall to go to the bathroom.

Tristan and Devin were a few feet behind Vicky when he whispered, "Stay behind. Talk to her or something. Smooth it out, I'll keep Vicky occupied for a few minutes."

"Devin-"

He cut him off, "No. Just...make it not weird, okay?"

Tristan shrugged before nodding, "I can try."

"Good." he looked up at his sister and muttered, "Start tying your shoe."

"But it's already tied."

"Then untie it and retie it, you idiot. Stop stalling. You two have to talk."

Tristan rolled his eyes, but bent down to his shoe, and Devin sped up, slinging his arm across his twin's shoulders, "So, Vicky....how's it goin'?"he asked, leading her far away from the spot where her boyfriend had stopped.

Tristan stood, leaning against the white wooden arch decorating the pathway through the rose garden. What the hell was he supposed to say to her? I'm sorry? Yeah right. She'd probably just walk by and ignore him. God knows that's what she'd been doing all week. He was surprised to see her coming around the corner, her black dress swishing around her knees as she moved slowly through the dark, looking at all the flowers. As if she felt him there, her gaze lifted until her deep blue eyes were on him. She stopped, looking as if she'd expected him to be there. Coming up even with him, she leaned on the beam across from him, her eyes clearly saying that she was waiting for him to say something.

He looked up at the stars, "Devin made me stay back to make peace."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, thanks. It's so nice to know that Devin made you talk to me."

He looked at her, "You know that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Tristan?"

He shrugged, "Just that, I know you hate me now-"

She cut him off, "I don't hate you."

He stopped, surprised, "You don't?"

"No." she looked over at him, "I'm pissed off at you, but I don't hate you." she looked away.

Tristan released a long breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding, "Okay..."

"What?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. It's just a relief." she nodded silently, looking around at the roses, the stars, the ground, the moon, her hands, anything but him. He bit his lip, looking down, "Look Rory,  
about what I said-"

Her head snapped up, "Don't worry about it."

"-but you know I didn't mean it."

She sighed, "It doesn't matter, I mean, I'm only fourteen, it's not a big deal. We weren't going to get married or anything."

He nodded, "Yeah, I know. I just didn't want you to think that I meant it."

She looked over at him, "Okay."

He waited for a moment, "That's it?"

"What?" she asked, unsure what he meant.

"That's it? No yelling? No screaming? No, 'I hate you Tristan, go to hell'? Just 'Okay'?"

She nodded, "That's it. I'm okay. You're with Vicky now. It's not a big deal."

"So then we're okay?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling gently, "We're okay."

Tristan nodded, not sure if she was lying or not, "Okay."

Rory sighed, pushing herself off of the arch, "Where are Vicky and Devin?"

"Up there somewhere."

"Shouldn't we go find them?"

"Yeah, we might need to intercept them before Devin goes completely insane." he pushed himself off of the arch as well, "Let's go." he held his arm out, elbow bent.

Rory smiled lightly, locking her arm through his, "Alright." And they made their way through the rose garden, talking like they were friends. And you know you're a good actor when you can almost make yourself believe a lie.

**TUESDAY**

Rory sighed, frustrated as she rubbed her forehead. She was sitting in a sweltering room, staring down at her test. It wasn't hard, she was just having trouble concentrating. She glanced over at her brother across the room and saw that he was in the same predicament, except that the heat was obviously making him sleepy, and his eyelids kept drooping. He looked up and their eyes met. His eyebrows went up and he sighed, looking back down at his test.

She looked around, studying the rest of the people. There were thirteen other people in the room. She didn't bother remembering what they looked like, because she knew that she'd probably never talk to them. The teacher at the front of the room had told them that about three of them would most likely fail. She guessed that it would be one boy at the front who looked like he wanted to rip out his hair, a girl at the back who looked as if she was about to cry, and another guy beside her who kept narrowing his eyes and skipping questions, shaking his head. Not even everyone that had wanted to take the test had gotten to. You had to be in the top ten percentile of your old school for them to even consider you. Luck for her, she'd been in the top five percentile, despite rarely studying.

She looked back down, darkening the circle marked 'C' and tuned the page, it was the last one, and she was glad about it. She'd been in this damn room for two hours; sweat was dripping down her back and collecting on her hairline, making the wisps of hair that had come out of her ponytail stick to her forehead. She finished the test, actually taking her time because she didn't want to fail this one. Her head snapped up as Devin stood, taking his paper to the front. He muttered something to the teacher and she nodded. He turned and started making his way to the door, holding his balled fist out, and Rory hit it with her own. That meant he'd done well. She answered her last question and took her own paper to the front, laying it on the woman's desk.

"Can I get some water?" the teacher nodded and she had to stop herself from running to the door. She was suffocating in that freaking heat, but the blast of wind that hit her as she opened the door was unwelcome. It felt icy compared to the sweltering heat of the classroom. She saw Devin leaning against the wall and immediately went over to him.

He looked up, "Well?"

She shrugged, "I'm a genius, I didn't skip a grade for nothing." He rolled his eyes, putting a hand in front of the elastic band in her hair and dragged his fingers through it to the front, messing up the ponytail and getting her hair in a terrible mess. She punched him in the chest, and he laughed, watching her take her hair down and run her fingers through the brown locks, a flash of purple coming out as she flipped it. Devin laughed at her as a huge knot appeared and she hit him again, "I hate you. Die." she dead panned, throwing him a nasty glare.

He wriggled his fingers in her face, annoying her, "Now, now, none of that. Hostility is not for the halls of Chilton."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Bite me." he grabbed her hand and lowered his head, but she snatched it away, hitting him in the head, "No. Biting is wrong. Didn't you ever learn that?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Well, it's not okay where I'm concerned, maybe with Erin..." she trailed off, biting her lip as her brother's face fell. "Damnit." she cursed herself, "Sorry Devin-"

He shook his head, "No. Don't worry about it. That's in the past. It's over with Erin."

Rory smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry." He shrugged, not wanting to talk about it, so she changed the subject. "Isn't this weird?" she asked.

He looked over at her, "What?"

"This. Changing schools. I mean, I did it last year, but it's different to have someone change with you."

Devin smirked, "Rory, Rory, Rory. Look at us. We're Chilton kids now."

She rolled her eyes, "Goodie."

**MONDAY**

Rory sighed, looking up at Devin from her place on the couch, "I'm bored."

"Join the club. Our letter of acceptance are supposed to come today."

"Unless of course we fail the test."

He snorted, "Yeah right."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she flipped through the channels. Their mom was at work, Vicky was at school, and they couldn't drive yet, so they were stuck in the house. The doorbell suddenly rang, surprising both of them, but they got over their shock quickly and sprang up, racing to the door. Devin, who had longer legs that Rory, reached the door with his sister on his heels. A man in a brown uniform stood in front of them, pushing two large brown boxes on a wheeled carrier. He asked where it should go, and they directed him to the living room. He wheeled them in, sliding the carrier out from under the boxes and he showed them where he needed one of them to sign. Rory took the man's pin and signed Lorelai Leigh Hayden as he handed her two enveloped with the Chilton seal on them. Rory closed the door and followed Devin into the living room, tossing him the letter addressed to him.

They opened the letters and it only took a second for each to confirm that they'd gotten in. After that was through with, Rory turned to the brown box with her name on it, and took the key from the front door, slicing the tape, then did the same for the second. She lifted the flaps to her box and pulled out a blue, navy, and white plaid skirt. She grimaced at her brother as he revealed a pair of khakis. Slowly, they retracted several school uniforms each, and at the bottom lay their text books. So that was why the boxes were so heavy. There was a receipt for everything. The uniforms, of course, were insanely expensive, not to mention the five books that were $80 to $90 each.

"Damn." Devin said, looking over the list. He whistled under his breath, looking at the uniforms. Their mother must have given their sizes. He picked up Rory's letter and another piece of paper fell out. He read it, "Hey Rory."

She was still staring at her uniform, "Hmm?"

"This says you have to take the purple out of your hair before you come to school, or they'll call mom and have her take you home until it's a natural color." she just grunted distractedly, and he glanced over at her to see that she wasn't listening to him, but was looking at her uniform with her head tilted and her hand on her chin.

"These need a little alteration. Good thing mom's a seamstress." Devin just smiled, rolling his eyes.

**THAT NIGHT**

Rory sighed, leaning against the side of the cart she was sitting in as Devin and Vicky dropped thing in it. They'd had their driver take them to a Target ten minutes away from home while Lorelai was still at work, and they were just bored with three credit cards. The twins were throwing random things into the cart. Devin dropped in CDs, a pack of Sharpies, drinks, pens, and anything else that Rory was sure he would never use, while Vicky threw in makeup, gum, jewelry, whiteout, and a magazine. Every few minutes Rory would point to something and one of the other two would grab it, dropping it into the cart. By the time they were halfway through the store, she was crowded by all the junk they'd accumulated. She was currently looking at a baby names book that Vicky had thrown in a few minutes earlier, and had figured out that Lorelai meant 'siren', Victoria meant 'winner', and Devin meant 'poetic'. Although she didn't know what she'd ever do with that information.

Vicky turned down the hair care isle and Devin pushed Rory in after her. Her sister was looking at scrunching spray when she saw that Devin had left her right in front of the hair dye. She grabbed two boxes of a shade of dark brown and dropped one in the cart. "Hey Vicky." she called, tossing the second box of color to her sister, who caught it instinctively. The blonde looked up at her uncertainly, and Rory smiled, "Ever dye somebody's hair before?"


	27. Smile Like You Mean It

A/N: I don't own _'Smile Like You Mean It'_ by The Killers

**_Smile like you mean it_**

**_Smile like you mean it_**

**_Looking back at sunsets on the Eastside_**

**_We lost track of the time_**

**_Dreams aren't what they usesd to be_**

**_-The Killers  
_**

Rory sat on her bathroom floor the next afternoon, waiting for the dye to set in her hair. Vicky was pacing back and forth nervously, looking over at Rory every few minutes, "I hope I didn't miss any spots."

Her little sister looked up at her, "Yeah, I hope you didn't too."

Vicky grinned sheepishly, turning to look in the mirror. She fixed her messy bun, "So, Rory."

She didn't look up from her book, "Hmm?"

"How do you like Tristan?" Vicky asked, not taking her eyes off of her reflection.

Rory didn't miss a beat, "He's great."

"Yeah. He is." she turned to look at Rory, "You guys listen to the same music."

"Hmm?" she still didn't tear her eyes away from the pages.

"That rock crap that I can't stand. You, Devin, and Tristan all listen to it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And in his room there are posters of a bunch of the bands you listen to. He has this one signed by some band..." she trailed off, trying to think of the name.

"Shadows Fall." Rory said without thinking, and then her jaw dropped and she clamped her eyes shut. Damnit.

Vicky turned to look at her, "What?"

Rory shook her head, returning to her book, "Nothing."

"No. You just said Shadows Fall."

She looked up at her, "So?"

"How the hell did you know that was it?"

She shrugged, "Tristan told Devin and Devin told me."

Vicky pursed her lips, but turned away from Rory. As far as she could tell, Devin and Tristan had hit it off surprisingly well, even though Tristan and Rory never really said anything to eachother. She stood from her place on the floor, "I'm gonna take a shower and rinse out my hair." she said, turning on the water so that it could warm up.

Vicky looked her sister over uncertainly before opening the bedroom door, "Call me when you're done so I can see how it turned out." she opened the door and left.

Rory sighed, stepping into the shower. She emerged twenty minutes later, glancing at the mirror,  
but she couldn't see her reflection on account of the water that had condensed on the mirror,  
making it impossible to see herself. She pulled out her hair dryer and turned it on high, flipping her hair under the hot air. Her hair actually dried faster than most people's, and in about ten minutes, she was done. By then the mirror had cleared, and when she saw herself, she screamed.

Devin came bursting through Rory's door, followed closely by Vicky and Tristan. She opened her bathroom door and her brother asked frantically, "Are you okay? What happened? You sound like you're dying or something."

She was speechless, and she pointed to her hair, "It...it.." she stuttered, unable to speak. The brown was a few shades darker than her natural color, but the dye had simply darkened the streaks, instead of taking them out, so now, instead of purple, they were dark blue.

Devin's eyes widened, Vicky's jaw dropped, and Tristan's head went down a few inches, his eyebrows raised. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but she'd expected to have all brown hair, not brown and blue. Her sister inhaled a deep breath before saying quietly, "At least it'll match the uniform."

WEDNESDAY

Rory looked at Chilton through the backseat of the car she was riding in. It was definitely not where she wanted to spend her Sophomore year of high school. They pulled up in front of the entrance and she slid out, followed closely by Vicky as Devin exited from the front. They called by to their mother collectively before making their way to the door. "So what's your locker number?" Devin asked Rory.

She looked down at a slip of paper in her hand, "580. You?"

"974."

"So Rory, you and I have second, third and sixth hour together, and Devin you and I have first, third, and fourth. And then you two have third, and fifth together. But we're all in the same third period. That's okay, because that's probably the best class I have. You'll like the people in it." she promised before being summoned by Summer the bitch. Rory had only met her a few times, but couldn't stand her, and she wasn't too fond of Rory either.

Devin touched Rory's shoulder lightly, "See you in third."

She sighed, rubbing her temple, "Yeah." before making her way down the hall towards the 500 lockers. It was a top locker, meaning she wouldn't have to bend down. That was one plus. The horrible thing that evened out that nice thing? Tristan's locker was to her left. She found this out when he walked up as she was putting her books in. Minding her own business, she was trying to figure out what she needed for her first class when the blonde walked up next to her,  
"Hey."

She looked up, a loose strand of hair falling in front of her face. She had it pulled back because she didn't think that it was a good idea for the administration to see the blue on her first day,  
"Oh, hey."

He leaned against the locker next to hers, running his fingers over the hair that had fallen from her loose ponytail, "So, what do you think so far?"

Rory blew at the hair in her face, "Well," she looked over at him, "From what I can tell after being here for ten minutes..." she rolled her eyes.

He held his hands up, "Hey, hey, hey, no need to get defensive or bitchy. I was just trying to make normal conversation. It's what civilized people do, you know."

She looked up at Tristan, the corners of her mouth turning into the shadow of a smile, "But you see Dugrey, that would require us to be civilized human beings, which I find highly over-rated and boring."

He laughed lightly, "I knew it."

She turned back to her locker, "So, as charming as I find your company, what are you doing at my locker?"

"Hmm, I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh?"

"Yep." she spun a combination on the locker he'd been leaning on, "And voila. It opens." he smiled charmingly as she closed her locker, "Looks like we're neighbors, Mary."

She rolled her eyes again, surprisingly not disturbed by the his use of her nickname...it was kind of nice, actually. Comfortable. Like it was just...right. "Wonderful." she started down the hall closing his locker as she passed him. Tristan turned, watching her walk down the hall with a lazy smile grazing his lips.

Rory made her way to her homeroom. People looked up as she entered, but she didn't even glance at them, walking straight to the teacher and handing her a note. The woman read it and nodded, "You can sit right there next to Miss Gellar." she motioned to a girl in the second row with straight, dirty blonde hair.

She went to where she was directed, sitting beside the girl, who glanced over at her, but didn't say anything, so she decided to, "Hey, I'm Rory."

The girl looked over, "You're new." it wasn't a question."

She nodded, "Yeah.

"You planning on going out for the Franklin?"

"The what?" Rory asked, shaking her head.

"The Franklin. School newspaper."

"Oh." she shrugged, "Maybe. Writing paper articles isn't something I do very often, so probably not."

The girl nodded, looking at her desk, "Okay...maybe I can work with that. How are your grades?"

"Um, pretty good."

"Are you smart?"

She had to stifle a laugh, "Yeah. I've been told that."

"How old are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Fourteen."

The girl snorted, "What? How are you fourteen and in tenth grade?"

Rory tilted her head, "I skipped a grade."

The girl's head cocked back, "So you ARE smart."

"Yeah."

She thought for a moment, sticking out her bottom jaw, "Right. Well anyway, I'm Paris Gellar."

"Rory Hayden."

Paris nodded, "Where did you move here from?"

"Boston."

"Ah. What school did you go to?"

"Whitland Prep."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Rory looked out the door and saw Devin walk past, but he didn't look into the room.

The girl nodded, "Did you know that Chilton has the highest testing scores of any school in New England?"

Rory looked over, "Is it really?"

"Yeah. And Whitland Prep in Boston is the second."

"Now that really is interesting."

"Yeah, I know." she must have missed the sarcasm in Rory's voice. There was a buzzing and Paris looked down at her bag, pulling out a vibrating cell phone. She looked down at it and saw that she'd gotten a text message. She read it and rolled her eyes, sighing. "New guy. Of course."

Rory looked up, "Hmm?"

Paris glanced over at her, "Oh, my friend Louise just sent me a message talking about this hot new guy in her class named Devin." Rory had to stifle a laugh as Paris started to type something back to Louise. "I swear. Every year in the second week of school when she new kids come, there's always a hot guy in Louise's class. I'll introduce you to her later." she said, talking partially to herself, but that last part had been for Rory. The bell rang and a few more kids filed in, and Rory groaned as they did. Paris looked up, "What?" she asked, just in time to see Summer shoot Rory a dirty look, which she returned. "Okay..." she said uncertainly.

Rory turned to her, "What?"

"You know Summer? Because while she is a bitch, not many people hate her before they know her."

"I know her."

Paris looked surprised, "You do? How?" Rory opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, a voice came on from the intercom, so she just sat lower in her seat, trying to ignore her sister's best friend.

After class was out, Paris followed Rory to her locker, "So, how do you know Summer?" she asked.

Rory turned to face her, "She's my sis-" but she was cut off when someone came up behind her.

"Rory!"

She turned, "Hey Devin." she grinned, he looked tired.

"I'm going to _kill_ Vicky." he said quietly, and Paris's eyes narrowed.

Rory laughed, turning to her locker, "And why is that?" she asked, but was cut off when Tristan joined them, grinning.

"It's not funny!" Devin snarled, and that just made him laugh lightly.

"Okay, Tristan, since Devin is obviously not going to answer my question, what did Vicky do?"

He shook his head, "She just kept annoying him. No one's ever met Devin, so she wants them to have this picture of the two of them being so much alike..." he trailed off, laughing.

Rory smiled, "What did she say?"

Devin's nose wrinkled, "She told her friends the story of our great grandparents." Rory did something that wasbetween a laugh and a groan. They were all three named after great grandparents. She was named after Richard's mother, while Vicky was named after Straub's mother, and Devin was named after Francine's father. "And she included them coming over from Ireland and starting their own buisnesses and everything."

Tristan started laughing again, "And then she got onto the topic of Devin being in a band." he shook his head, "she was so proud."

Rory poked him in the side gently, "And did you add that you were the singer?"

Tristan touched his side, "Nope."

Devin's lip curled, "She said I played guitar."

Rory shook her head, "You do play guitar."

Devin sighed, "Yes, I know thank you. But I did not however, play guitar in the band."

"That because you kick ass at base." Tristan said, leaning against the locker.

"Yes he does, and that annoyed you?"

"Yeah, it annoyed me!" he said loudly, frowning because now both Tristan _and_ Rory were laughing at his expense. He noticed Paris over Rory's shoulder and nodded to her, "Hey. I'm Devin."

She nodded, "Paris." This whole time she'd been standing right behind Rory, trying to figure out what was going on, and she was about to ask a few questions, like since when did Vicky Gilmore have a brother and a sister, not to mention a brother and sister in the same grade she was in. What hell were they? Triplets? And why was Rory's last name Hayden? But before she got the chance, Vicky popped up.

"Hey." she smiled, resting her arm on Tristan's side.

He looked down, and Paris saw some of the light leave his eyes, "Hey Vik." Rory snorted, amused. Tristan looked over at her, the corners of his lips turning up, "What?"

She shook her head, "I've never met anyone else who saw the need to shorten an already shortened name."

Tristan smiled, sensing their old banter, "Well now you have Ma-" Devin coughed at the same time as he stepped onTristan's foot, and the name died in his throat.

Vicky looked up at him, while Paris's eyes darted between the four of them suspiciously, "What was that?" Vicky asked.

Tristan shook his head, "Nothing."

"But-"

"It was nothing, Vicky." Tristan kissed her lightly, needing her to stop talking. Rory inhaled a slow, deep breath, closing her eyes before glancing over at Devin. Tristan pulled away from Vicky and she smiled, letting it go for the moment. Summer came up, engaging her in a conversation, and Rory, Devin, and Tristan looked at eachother, all having the same thought. God, what would they do without Devin? That had been a close one.


	28. One Eight Seven

**A/N: Okay, for all who have been wondering, no, I have not dropped off the face of the earth (luckily), I've just been insanely busy lately and had a horrible bout of writers block. And I don't own One Eight Seven by Senses Fail**

_**No one else can feel the pain that breaks my heart each day...  
I'm not okay **_

_**Why did I ever let you inside my heart...  
I'm such a fool **_

_**Don't you know that I always see you in all of my dreams?  
I wanna kill you, but now I'm insane**_

- _One Eight Seven_ (Senses Fail)

Rory glanced at Paris across the picnic table in the courtyard two weeks later. "Okay, so let me get this straight, you-" she pointed to Rory, "-are sisters with Vicky Gilmore, and Devin is her twin and your older brother...and when you were little your parents divorced, so he moved to Boston with your dad, Vicky stayed here with your mom, and you moved to Maine with your grandparents."

Rory twirled the stick to her blow pop, nodding. "Mm-hm." Madeline and Louise glanced at each other, they'd heard pieces of what had happened, but this was the first time they were hearing it confirmed.

"But your dad wanted you to move in with him, so last fall you packed up and went to Boston for a few months, and then your father had to move to Paris for five months with business, so you and Devin moved here with your mom, am I right?"

She pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, grinning, "You got it."

Paris nodded, "Okay. God, you have the most complicated family I've ever met." Rory laughed and popped the sucker back into her mouth.

"Wow, so then the first thing you heard me and Louise say was how hot your brother is?"  
Madeline asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Sorry about that." she apologized, smiling sheepishly. Louise just looked at her fingernails, pursing her lips, and Madeline elbowed her in the ribs.

She gave her friend a dirty look, "What? It's true." she smiled at Rory lightly, "sorry, but one can't deny the facts."

Rory nodded, "Oh no, it's fine."

Madeline smirked lightly, "Speaking of fine..." she whispered under her breath, looking over Rory's shoulder..

"Hmm?" before Rory could turn around, someone sat on the table, resting his feet on the bench next to her. She glanced up at him, "Tristan." she looked back down, closing her eyes momentarily, and taking a deep breath. It got harder every time she saw him. Sometimes she wished that she'd never let him in, and she asked herself how she let a guy hurt her that bad...and then Tristan smiled at her, and it all made perfect sense; his smile, his laugh, his voice...it all screamed at her that there was a reason she allowed him to hurt her, and a reason that she was still willing to go back for more. She wanted to kill him sometimes, but he'd beat her to it. He'd driven her insane.

She squeezed her eyes tightly before opening them. He smiled charmingly, "Rory." and then he nodded to the other three, "Maddy, Louise...Gellar." She rolled her eyes and hit im in the side with her notebook, but it was obvious she was fighting back the smile of someone who was used to friendly banter with Tristan Dugrey. He laughed, "Hey Paris."

She shook her head, "Loser."

He touched his heart lightly, "Ouch, that one hurt." he smiled when she laughed at the pained look on his face, and he turned to Rory. "She's as bad as you."

She shrugged lightly, taking her lollipop out of her mouth again, "You bring it upon yourself."

He nodded, "So they say. Why such mean things from such a pretty mouth?"

"Are you talking about me or you?"

He shrugged, "Either, you decide." She just laughed, shaking her head. He watched her, smiling lightly.

"Tristan Dugrey, you are so cocky."

"Oh but you like it."

"So much. How ever could you tell?"

"I have a sixth sense about these things."

"Is that it? I always knew there was something weird about you."

"Oh aren't you a clever one?"

"You're just jealous because I'm smarter."

"That's it."

"I knew it." she said lightly, a small smile creeping onto her face as she popped the sucker back in.

Tristan looked at the other three, "Well, I'll let you four get back to...whatever you were talking about because I seem to have interrupted something important."

Madeline shook her head, "Not really."

He just smiled at her before looking back at Rory and pulling the blow pop from her mouth, sticking it into his own, and saying goodbye before walking away. Rory watched him go with her jaw dropped. He'd taken her candy. Louise tilted her head, "What the hell was that about?"

Rory shook her head, biting her bottom lip lightly, "I have no idea." Madeline snorted lightly, shaking her head. Rory turned to look at her, "What?"

"You might want to be careful. Even though we all know that Vicky and Tristan will break up eventually, there's still a line to get to him."

She shook her head, "I don't like Tristan. He's dating my sister."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you're not attracted to him. I say that you'll fall for him within a month, doubtless of his status with your sister." Louise seemed to be under the impression that Rory wanted her opinion on the subject.

She shook her head and deadpanned, "You know, you're right. I am I love with him. I want him madly and deeply. Is it that obvious?" it might have been wittier if it wasn't slightly true.

Louise just smiled lightly, "It'll be true, just wait."

"Mmm." Rory just looked away from her, but she wouldn't give it up.

"I mean, we all liked him. I fell for him after two weeks, Madeline was quicker than me."

The brunette nodded solemnly, "He was in my first period. It was instantaneous."

"And are either of you attracted him anymore?" she challenged.

"Rory, you can't be a heterosexual female and not be attracted to Tristan Dugrey. Of course we're still attracted to him, even if we don't have a crush on him per say." Louise explained as easily as if it were common knowledge.

She nodded, "Is that so?"

"Well yeah."

Rory shook her head, this was insane, "Okay, I'm gonna go now." she stood up, walking away when Paris caught up with her.

"Hey, Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"So what's the story with you and Tristan?"

She stopped walking and turned to face her, "What?"

"You and Tristan. Louise and Madeline may think you're just into your sister's boyfriend, but I know Tristan, and I've gotten to know you pretty quickly, and I can tell that there's something there that has nothing to do with being friends with him because he's dating your sister, and there was more there than a few weeks of knowing each other. You guys haven't exactly been discrete about knowing each other around me. Hell, the first day I met you, the two of you were joking and flirting. So, what's it gonna be? Do I have to figure out the hard way? Because I'll tell you, I'm planning on being a journalist, and a damn good one at that, so do you want to tell me or am I going to have to dig?"

Rory just stood in silence for a moment, shaking her head as Paris waited for an answer. She finally found her voice. "Who the hell do you think you are? Yeah, I think you're great and fun and all, but what makes you think that after knowing you for two weeks that I'm about to spill my soul to you? And what in the world makes you so sure I know Tristan from somewhere else?"

Paris sighed, "I just don't get it, and I hate when I don't get things. I mean, it's obvious that Tristan likes you, so why is he with Vicky? And why is it that you two act like you never knew each other before when it's obvious to any idiot in my position that you do know each other? I mean, around other people you act like perfect strangers, but you've never acted liked that around me, and I just want to know why you still insist on telling me that you were never a couple." Rory nodded, tilting her head, "Wow. That was actually really impressive."

Paris sighed, "Thank you. Now, will you...please-" the word didn't seem to come to her very easily, "- tell me what's going on."

She sighed, closing her eyes, "It's really complicated."

"Oh trust me, I can understand complicated."

"And it's a long story because in order to understand it there are a lot of details."

"I have time, and I love long stories, seriously. I used to drive my nanny crazy because I always complained that the stories she read me weren't long enough."

She sighted lightly, "It's not really a happy story. I mean, he really hurt me."

Paris leaned back on the tree behind her, "Maybe if you talked to me about it..." she trailed off,  
"It might not hurt so much anymore."

Rory bit her lip, looking over the grounds of Chilton as the bell rang signaling the start of their last class. Apparently they were skipping, "I guess it all started back last fall when I moved in with my dad and brother..."

****

**_A/N: Okay, that's it for now. It's not that long, but the next chapter should be up soon since I'm on spring break and have no where to go._**


	29. Wonderwall

A/N: Short chapter, yes, I know, and I'm sorry, but what can you do? School's been crazy and I have trouble getting the time to write. I will honestly try to write more this weekend. Don't hate me, please. And I don't own _The Bell Jar_, or _Wonderwall_. The book is Sylvia Plath's, and the song is Oasis's. 

_**Back-beat, the word is on the street **_

_**That the fire in your heart is out **_

_**I'm sure you've heard it all before **_

_**But you never rally had a doubt **_

_**I don't believe that anybody **_

_**Feels the way I do about you now**_

_ -Wonderwall (Oasis)_

"Okay class, that was the bell...now, who can tell me what that means?" Mr. Clarkson asked as everyone took their seats, grumbling and rolling their eyes. He smiled lightly, "Very good. Gold stars for everyone. Now, I know how much you all just love group projects, so we'll be starting a new one today-" they all brightened, "-and I'll be selecting your groups." and it was back to normal. He smiled again, "Now don't be so upset. It's not hard. This is drama for god's sake. It's not hard, and you don't even have to write your own script. All you have to do read the already written scene. And besides, don't we all love Shakespeare?" the class groaned, a few heads hitting the desks. He rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on, all of you are in tenth grade, I think you're a little past the whining stage." Everyone fell silent, although no one looked especially happy about the assignment. Mr. Clarkson sat on his desk, "Okay, so, since we're all so ready for this, I'll tell you what's going on.

"We're doing _Romeo and Juliet_, and before any of you start complaining, remember that I take everything into account at the end of the semester when report cards go out. Now, everyone has to participate, whether you're going to act or be stage crew. I don't care, but everyone has to do something. Certain people who I have seen act will be forced to do that, all apologies included. Now, I want all of you to take a script," he dropped a thick stack of scripts on the floor by his desk, "and start memorizing. Everyone will do a read through for me and tell me whether you want to be in stage crew or act and I will assign the parts and who will do lighting and stage. Now please remember, Shakespeare is classic, and as actors it is our duty not to take away from the integrity of the play, so please take this seriously." he turned and sat in the chair behind his desk.

Chairs scraped the floor as everyone stood up to get their scripts. Rory grabbed one slowly,  
flipping through it. Stage crew, definitely. Mr. Clarkson nodded to the empty room attached to his classroom. "Half the class will read through today and half will read through tomorrow. Louise, you're up first." she looked at her script, following him into the room. Tristan threw his script onto his chair and slid across Rory's desktop. She looked up at him, expressionless.

"Oh come on, that was impressive and you know it."

She just shook her head, "What do you want, Tristan?"

"Nothing, why do I always have to want something to talk to you?"

"Hmm, I dunno. Oh, by the way, you owe me a blow pop."

He laughed lightly, "I do?"

"Yes, you stole mine last week, and I want another one."

"I'll see what I can do."

Rory nodded, "You do that." she looked down at her script and ignored him.

Tristan watched her with an amused expression, "Are you serious?"

She looked up at him, "What?"

"Why are you reading that? We both know you're going to be stage crew."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because," he smiled at her, "you have no intention of memorizing enough lines to be in a play, either because you just don't see the point or you don't have the attention span. Plus I know that you would love to do lighting because you think the colors are so pretty, or you'd want to do set design because painting is easy and you could easily just paint the flats rather than actually make a set and no one in their right mind would rather learn lines than paint and get an A."

She leaned back in her chair, "Oh?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I mean seriously, Rory, you know you're not going to seriously audition. You don't care enough, plus it would kill you if you did get a role and took it away from the people who really want it."

"And what makes you so sure about that?" she asked, although her smile didn't fall.

"I just know you that well."

Rory bit her lip, looking down, "Do you?"

Tristan nodded, "Yeah. I do."

She looked back up at him, "Stop it."

He threw his hands up, "Doing what? I'm not doing anything."

"Tristan, I'm serious. This isn't fair. Besides, you're dating Vicky. So do not do this."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She didn't smile, "Tristan."

He looked away from her, "Fine. I'm done."

"Thank you." she leaned back, looking anywhere but at him.

Tristan slid off of her desk, touching her face gently before walking over to talk to some boy named Austin. She exhaled a shaky breath, closing her eyes and resting her forehead in her palm. This couldn't be happening to her.

**NEXT DAY**

Rory sat at one of the long lunch tables, talking to Madeline when Devin and Tristan came in and sat across from them, "I loathe this school. I swear to God, if they make me write another paper..."

She smiled at her brother, "What's the problem?" He tossed a stapled packet onto the table in front of her, and she tilted her head, picking it up. "Um, Devin, this is a 96, most of the people that have your English teacher bombed this paper."

He nodded impatiently, "Yes, I know this, but that's the third paper I've had to write since I've been here, which is less than a month."

She nodded, "Poor baby."

"I don't think you're being very sincere." Devin said as Vicky came up and slid into the seat next to Tristan.

"Good call. I'd say you're improving."

"Ha ha." he sat back in his seat, glancing over at Vicky, "How did you do on the English paper?"

She shook her head, "Don't even ask."

"See? Even Vicky bombed it, so stop complaining." Rory told him, rolling her eyes as he gllared at her.

"Did you fail it too?" Vicky asked her brother.

Devin turned to look at her, "No. I got a 96, but that doesn't change the fact that it was pointless to write."

"And why is that?"

"Because, Sylvia Plath was a maniac, it's common knowledge that she was insane. You just have to read The Bell Jar to know that. It's a damn autobiographical novel. I see no point in forcing us to write a paper on her life, I know all about her thanks to Rory-" he shot her a glance, "-because she forced me to read _The Bell Jar_ in eighth grade."

Rory laughed lightly, smiling, "I did, didn't I?"

"Yes, and I hate you for ever for it."

She rolled her eyes, "You're over dramatic."

He shook his head, "Oh no. I'm serious. That woman was insane."

"And amazing. It's not her fault she was mentally unstable."

"I didn't say she wasn't an amazing writer."

Rory smiled, crossing her legs under the table as Summer waltzed in, sitting down next to Vicky. She and Rory exchanged a glare before ignoring each other's existence. Tristan snickered and Rory rolled her eyes. There was a navy blue ribbon with white polka dots tied around her neck as a choker, and she amused herself by playing with the excess ribbon at the back of her neck. The other people at the table carried on their conversations, and she was about to join in when her cell phone rang. She looked down at her bag and pulled it out, glancing at the screen and not recognizing the number, "Hello?"

"Hola."

Rory smiled lightly, "Hey Erin." Devin swung around to face her, and Tristan nearly dropped his Coke. She ignored Tristan, he was really bad at acting like they'd never known each other, and looked over at Devin, biting her lip lightly, "New number?"

"Yeah. My other phone got thrown into a pool, which kinda killed it, and then it got washed, which really killed it. So my dad just said to go buy a new one and he gave me another credit card. I love my daddy." Rory laughed and Erin smiled, "Yeah, I know, but what can I say? I'm a material girl."

"Yes I know, trust me. I've been shopping with you."

Erin laughed, "What? I can't help it."

"And how exactly did your phone get thrown in the pool?" Rory asked, smiling.

"Eh, let me clarify: I go thrown into a pool, and my phone was in my pocket."

"Nice. Who threw you in a pool?"

"Tray. It actually kinda reminded me of the time we were in Key West and everybody wound up thrown in."

Rory laughed, leaning her head back, "Where were you?"

"You remember Chance McKinney?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"He was having a party."

"Oh."

When Rory didn't say anything else, Erin spoke, "So, what are you doing now?"

"I'm sitting in the cafeteria."

"Oh fun."

"Tell me about it."

Erin was silent for a moment, "Is Devin..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, he's right here." her brother blinked biting his lower lip, "You want to talk to him?"

Erin was silent again, "No." she said quietly.

Rory looked down, and Devin exhaled slowly, glancing up at Tristan. His friend looked down, he hadn't known that Devin and Erin had broken up when they moved. Rory said something into the phone quietly and hung up. She sighed, looking between the two boys, and her comment was directed at Devin, "She says hey." Her brother nodded, but didn't say anything.

**DRAMA**

Rory was sitting on top of her desk, looking over the script. Tristan slid into the chair connected to her desk. She didn't have to look up to know it was him. She shifted her right leg so that it was under her left thigh and Tristan could sit comfortably, "Hey."

He rested his feet on the foot rack of the desk in front of him, "Having fun?"

"Immensely."

"I can tell."

"I figured that was why you asked."

He opened his mouth to reply, but Mr. Clarkson opened the door and called out, "Hayden,  
Dugrey, you're the only ones who haven't read and we don't have time for you to go separately" they looked at each other, but neither moved. The teacher rolled his eyes, "That means you come together, now get over here." Rory slid off the desk and Tristan stood up. They walked slowly to the back room and the teacher closed the door behind them. "Okay. Just read through as much of the balcony scene as you can." he sat and they stood still, unsure of exactly what to do. "Come on, we don't have all day." Tristan shrugged and turned to face her, grinning as he started reading through the script.

Fifteen minutes later he stopped them. He didn't say a word, just stared at them with a sour look on his face. Tristan glanced between the teacher and Rory, unsure of what to do, and he saw that she was just as confused. "Mr. Dugrey, I loathe my fifth period class, did you know that?"

Tristan glanced over at Rory, taken aback, before looking back over at Mr. Clarkson, "Um, no, I wasn't aware of that, sir."

"Well I do. And do you know why?"

"Why is that?"

"Because you're in this class."

Rory let out a short burst of laughter and Tristan looked over at her, a shocked and amused expression in place. "Um, is there a reason that you hate me?"

"Simply, because you have so much talent. I mean, you could easily have the part of Romeo with no competition, but you don't want it. And I could give it to you, but you would be lazy with it. You just don't care. Same with you, Rory. You could easily have Juliet, you're extremely talented, but I can tell that you just don't care. You frustrate me. Both of, you, but you more so, Tristan." the bell rang and he sighed, grabbing his legal pad, "What would you like to do in the play?"

"Set." they said in unison, and then looked at each other in surprise. Mr. Clarkson let out a string of profanities and they both darted out of the audition area before he decided to throw things at them. Once they got into the classroom, they realized that they were the only ones left in the room.

Tristan looked over at her and smirked, "I told you that you'd be set."

She shrugged, smiling as she picked up her bag and made her way out of the room, "And you're just so proud of yourself, aren't you?"

Tristan grabbed his bag and followed her out, "Actually, yeah, I kinda am."

_**A/N: okay, like i said, short chapter, i'm not sure when i'll be able to get the next chapter out, but i **_will_ **work on it, i swear.**_


	30. Girl From Mars part one

A/N: I don't own Power Rangers or the song _Goldfinger_ by Ash. 

_**Do you remember the time I knew a girl from Mars?**_

_**I don't know if you knew that **_

_**Oh we'd stay up late playing cards **_

_**Henri Winterman cigars.**_

Rory sat in the living room, staring blankly at the TV. Devin walked in and stopped, tilting his head, "Rory?"

She didn't glance up, "Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh." she held a finger to her mouth, but still didn't tear her gaze away from the screen.

Devin walked over to the couch and looked at the television as well. He stepped back, his fingers twitching, "You're watching The Power Rangers." she nodded, although he didn't think she was listening. "The Power Rangers, Rory."

She nodded, "Thanks. I'm not sure I would've figured it out if you hadn't told me."

"Your sarcasm it noted. And why are you watching The Power Rangers?"

"We used to love to watch this show."

"Yeah, we did."

"They've changed it a lot."

He sat down beside her, looking at the screen, "Yeah they have."

"It sucks."

"Yeah, it does."

She shook her head, "We should sue. We should get pitch forks and knives and torture them slowly. They've ruined a staple of my childhood. I am now scarred for life and I'll be forced to cry in a corner every night. Look at this, what ever happened to Might Morphing Power Rangers?" Devin laughed, and Rory hit him in the arm, "Don't laugh at my pain."

"Sorry, I just think it's funny hearing your nostalgia about your childhood that was...oh man, all of eight years ago."

"Hey! I am mourning the loss of a classic. You just don't appreciate fine television."

He held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, I loved that show just as much as you did, but you have to admit that the acting was horrible. And the special effects were horrible. And the story line was horrible..."

"Devin, you're just making it worse." she whined, burying her face into the throw pillow of the couch. He laughed, picking up the remote and switching the channel. She sat up, "Hey, I was watching that."

"You were just complaining about how much it sucks."

"So? I was still watching it." she took the remote back and her brother just gave her a look. "What? It's prime mocking material." Devin just rolled his eyes and leaned back onto the couch, watching Power Rangers.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

Lorelai closed the door behind her as she got home from work. "Augh. Okay I officially hate Michel. I swear to god, I am going to make a chocolate cake and shove it down his throat, just so I can watch him scream and then throw up because his fragile stomach can't handle so much sugar." she threw her keys on the table in the foyer.

"Mom, you don't know how to make a chocolate cake." Rory called from the living room.

She stopped, biting the inside of her cheek, "Huh, I don't, do I? Well that's okay, because I can just ask Sookie to do it. She knows how to make cake."

Vicky walked into the foyer, "What did Michel do this time?"

Lorelai sighed, "There was a little girl running through the lobby, so Michel started chasing her and tried to spray her with bug repellant. He told me that he thought she was an abnormally large bumble bee because her parents dressed her in a hideous black and yellow striped dress. Which yes, it was hideous, and no, there is no way in this world or the next that he could possibly have mistaken her for one. We gave them a free bottle of champagne and let them stay free for a night." she shook her head, walking into the living room, "I swear I almost killed..." she trailed off, looking at Rory and Devin, who were still sitting on the couch, staring at the TV.

"Power Rangers marathon." Devin explained before she could say anything.

Lorelai nodded, deciding that it might be best to just not ask any questions. "So, I have something to shoot at the three of you."

Vicky picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Her two siblings let out short bursts of protests, but with a look from her, they both fell silent. "Go ahead."

Their mother smiled, "Do you guys have any plans tomorrow?"

Rory sighed, flopping onto her back, stretching her legs across Devin's lap, "What day is tomorrow?"

"Saturday." her mother answered.

"As shocking as it may seem, I believe that I have a free schedule tomorrow."

"Devin?"

"Yeah, me too."

"Vicky?"

"I think I was going to go to a movie with Summer, but not until later. Why?"

"How do you guys feel about making a little extra cash? You could work at the inn for a few hours, look around the town."

"Sure." Devin snatched the remote from his sister and turned the television on.

"Yeah. Thanks." Rory looked over at the screen.

"I'll talk to Summer, but yeah, I'm pretty sure that I can."

"Okay, good. We'll leave at nine-ish in the morning and you can work until whenever." she stood up, "But I'm dead on my feet, so I'm gonna go to bed." she hugged each of them, "Night."

**NEXT MORNING**

Rory buried her faced deeper into the pillow as her alarm went off. It was that stupid pig one she'd insisted on buying when they went to the mall, just to see the look of horror on Vicky's face when she walked out with it. Although when they'd gotten home her mom had claimed that it wasn't fair that she didn't get one too.

She pulled the pillow from under her head and nailed the screaming clock. It flew off the table and sailed seven feet before smashing to the ground. It made a strange whining noise before falling silent. Rory smiled to herself and curled into a ball and was almost back to sleep when her door opened and in came Vicky. Rory let out something between a cry and a groan, tunneling deeper into her mattress and praying that her sister would suddenly forget where she was and go away.

"Rory?"

"Mmm."

"We're leaving in like, half an hour, okay?"

Rory nodded, stretching her legs before pushing the cover off of her upper body. "Thanks Vicky."

Twenty minuted later, Rory walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail as she grabbed a coffee mug and filled it. "You're not wearing that, are you"  
Vicky asked.

She turned to look at her sister, who was wearing long jeans, shoes with a four inch sole, and a sheer white shirt with a pink thank top on underneath, with her hair curled at the bottom. And then she glanced down at her own ensemble: black Dickies that were too long for her, but her shoes kept them from getting holes in the bottom, a white wife beater, and a faded jean jacket that fit her perfectly. "Yes, I was planning on it."

"You can't wear that to work at the inn."

"Why not?"

"Because you're supposed to dress nicely."

Rory took a sip of her coffee, it wasn't going to be her last this morning, "It's fine."

"You look like you crawled out of a garage band concert-" Rory rolled her eyes, "-you need to go change."

"Actually, I think I'll go check on Devin." she turned to leave the kitchen.

"Rory-" her sister called after her.

"Checking on Devin!" she called back, wondering where her mother kept the Asprin. She climbed the stairs and knocked on her brother's door. He pulled it open quickly, and she could tell he'd just gotten out of bed. His eyes were blurry and his hair was sticking out everywhere, but he was dressed. He had on light blue jeans and a sightly tight black shirt that said 'The Clash 1984 World Tour' on the front, and there were cities and dates on the back.

He shuffled his hair in his hand quickly, "Hey."

"Hey. I'm dying, and don't let Vicky see you. She'll spaz out and make you change into a collared shirt." Devin grimaced and opened his mouth to reply, but they heard their mother call them from downstairs.

**HALF AN HOUR LATER**

Lorelai parked in front of a diner and killed the engine. She nodded to the building, "This is Luke's. Best coffee in the world." she smiled at Rory, who jumped out of the car and walked up the steps, followed closely by Devin.

"Did you take the money to repair the bridge?" a man in a flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap was talking heatedly at a teenage boy with dark hair behind the counter who was wearing black pants and a red Dead Kennedys shirt.

He shrugged, and the small twitch of his lips gave away his amusement, "I did nothing, uncle Luke. Nothing. I'm just an innocent boy-"

"Did you set off the fire alarm during that assembly?"

He sighed shaking his head, "It's not my fault. They just make those handles so bright and pretty...I couldn't help myself."

"Did you steal all the baseballs from your school?"

"I never removed them from the campus, so no, I didn't steal them. The team should just try looking a little harder."

"Did you take the money donated to repair the bridge?"

"Is it my fault that Taylor has a personal vendetta against me?"

"Jess." he warned.

"Luke." he mocked.

Luke pointed a finger at him, "You will return the money, put the balls back, and apologize for pulling the alarm."

"But I didn't do anything wrong."

Lorelai sat at the counter, "Hey."

Luke looked up, "Oh, hey." he spotted the three teenagers with her, "Hi." he'd met Vicky, but didn't know the other two.

"Oh Luke, this is my son Devin, and my other daughter, Rory. You two, this is my friend Luke and his nephew Jess."

Rory nodded, looking around the diner, "Hi." she and Devin said it in unison.

Jess looked between them, "Hey."

"Do you guys want anything?" Lorelai asked.

"Coffee." Rory said quickly.

Devin nodded, "Me too."

"So three coffees to go?" Luke asked, and gave Jess a look, who simply shrugged and grabbed the pot.

"You want anything, Vicky?" her mother asked.

Vicky shook her head, "No, I'm good." her cell phone started to ring, and she rolled her eyes, smiling as Luke pointed to the no cell phones sign. "Oh, hey Tristan." she said in a sing song voice as she opened the door and stepped out into the street.

Rory closed her eyes, swallowing hard. She opened her eyes to see Devin looking down at her, his eyebrows raised. She blew out a long breath. Jess held out a Styrofoam cup with a lid, "Happy birthday."

She smiled, "Thanks."

The boy held the next one out to Devin, and Luke handed a third one to Lorelai. Rory leaned against the counter, taking a long drink when a tall boy in a green apron that said 'Doose's Market' across the front came in. Jess's lip quirked and Luke gave him a warning scowl. Jess snorted lightly, "I promise to talk slowly and use small words."

"Don't start anything." Luke said quietly, and Jess smirked, pulling a wiping cloth out of his back pocket.

The tall boy rolled his eyes when he saw Jess, "I'm here for Taylor."

Jess held his hands up innocently, "I didn't say anything." he smiled lightly, "Nice apron, by the way. It's a great color for you."

The boy just shook his head, the muscles in his jaw clenching as he turned to Luke, "Taylor wants to talk to you."

"I'm working."

"It's about business."

"Well then maybe I just don't want to talk to him."

"It's about the bridge money." he shot a glance at Jess who started wiping off the counter.

Luke gave Dean a look that suggested he get off the drugs, "That isn't about business. How is that business?"

"He said it was because he owns the land the bridge is on. And he wants to talk to you because the money went missing when Jess was in the store."

Jess turned to him, a disgusted look on his face, "I was buying glue to fix a bookcase in the apartment."

"Whatever Jess, I was working that day. You bought one thing of glue. That's not enough to fix a bookcase."

He shook his head, talking as if Dean were a child who was being told not to touch the stove, "It was enough to fix the bookcase hanging on the wall-" he nodded to the stairs, "-you can go look at it if you really want to."

Dean shook his head, looking offended, "Whatever. My boss wanted me to come and tell you to go see him, and I did. So now I'm leaving." he glanced at Rory before walking out.

"Come again." Jess called as the door opened. Dean stopped for a split second, but then continued walking. Jess shook his head, grinning as he started wiping the counter again.

Rory smiled, tilting her head as she watched him. She definitely wouldn't mind getting to know him better. Lorelai glanced at the clock, "We should go. By now Sookie's probably burned down the kitchen and Michel has probably poisoned several guests, while only god knows what Rune's done." she took out some money, dropping it on the table and standing up, "Hell, what does Rune do? What do I even pay him for anymore?" she started to walk towards the door, "I mean, all he does it stick his fingers in things and complain that I don't pay him enough when I shouldn't be paying him anything at all." she opened the door, "Bye Luke."

He looked up from the pad of paper in his hands, "Bye."

Jess looked up at Rory, smiling lightly. She smiled back before walking out after Vicky. Devin's eyebrows rose and he followed her out, shaking his head.

**DRAGONFLY**

Rory sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, drinking another cup of coffee and watching the staff make lunch. Sookie was talking about the produce man, Jackson. Rory had noticed that she talked about him a lot, but didn't say anything about it. "-but then he brought in grapes from California, and I couldn't use those, so I had to call him and have him bring me a whole new crop--oh!" Rory jumped, looking up, and Sookie pulled her hand up, the spatula flying away and hitting a man in the head who was holding a large tray of fruit. He staggered and fell, causing all the fruit to smash to the ground. She looked over at him, sighing, "You should be more careful,  
Mason." she turned back to Rory, smiling, "I have an idea."

"Yeah?" she planted her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms.

"We should have a dinner."

"A dinner?"

"Yeah, you know, you, your mom, Vicky and Devin, me, maybe Jackson and Luke. It could be fun. Hey, Luke could even bring Jess."

Rory nodded, "Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, and Vicky could bring her boyfriend. We could go to my house, or yours might be better since the kitchen is so much bigger..." Rory tuned her out as she continued rambling about it. This could definitely get interesting.

**NEXT NIGHT**

Sookie was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner, and Jackson was in the kitchen making sure Sookie didn't burn it down. Rory sat in the living room, her legs crossed as her mom followed Michel around the bottom floor of the house, he was trying to get away from her, but she just kept talking about how much weight he was going to gain tonight. He had somehow warranted an invite, but Rory couldn't figure out how. Luke had called twenty minutes ago saying that they'd gotten mixed up with the time, but would be there soon. Tristan and Vicky were on the love seat, the blonde boy looking all too comfortable in his dark jeans and a polo shirt. Vicky had her legs crossed, the jean skirt making them look even longer than they were. The doorbell rang and Luke and Jess were escorted in by Lorelai. Jess's jeans were worn and he had on a long-sleeved black oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up to a few inches below his elbow. But Rory found that it looked more like a nice-misunderstood-rebellion thing than dressy.

"Sorry about being late, Lorelai. We got mixed up with what time we were supposed to be here." he shot Jess a look. His nephew shrugged and looked up at Rory, who tilted her head. She looked down, suddenly self conscious. Jess took in her light jeans and black off-the-shoulder shirt with a white wife beater on under it. A shadow of a smile grabbed the corners of Jess's lips as he turned away form her and followed Luke into the living room.

He sat on one of the unoccupied recliners, "Hey." it was directed more to Rory and Devin since he found Vicky annoying, but he wasn't rude enough to ignore her when she returned the greeting. He looked around the room, and Devin didn't miss the way Tristan looked Jess over, probably because of the way he'd looked Rory over when he walked in. Tristan was no doubt sizing him up. He only had to look at his sisters to know that they didn't notice it. Possibly it was a guy thing that women couldn't pick up on. He also didn't miss the way that Rory glanced at Jess. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked, looking at them.

Rory stood up, "It's this way." Devin saw Tristan's jaw clench as Rory stood up so suddenly. Jess didn't even look at Tristan, but stood as well and followed her. He'd just met Rory and Devin yesterday, but he already liked them...and he felt kind of bad for abandoning Devin, but he forgot it as he passed an open door. He stopped, which cause Rory to halt as well. She turned, walking slowly into the library after him. He touched the spine of one of the books lightly and looked over at Rory, who was watching him. "You read much?" she asked.

He glanced back at the bookcase, "Not really." he walked to the window, "Does this thing open?"

"Yeah. You just push the little lever to the left and push up-"

Jess pushed and there was a clicking sound. He laid his palms on the glass and pushed up. It slid open and he looked over at her, "Shall we?"

Rory looked between him and the window, "Shall we what?"

"Ditch."

"Ditch?"

"Yes."

"And do what? This is residential Hartford. There's nothing to do. Unless of course you want to go skinny dipping in old man Reinny's pool, but it's October, so I'm not so sure that would be a good idea."

Jess nodded, "No, but it does have potential."

She smiled, "Yeah."

"So, are we going?"

Rory bit her lip, "I would say yes, but see, out there it's just cold, and in here there's food."

"You want to stay for the food?"

She shrugged, putting a hand on her stomach, "Kind of. It'll be good food trust me."

"I don't even know you."

Rory tilted her head, "But don't I look trustworthy?"

He nodded, "Maybe."

"Then come on, I'll bail with you next time." she turned to leave the library.

Jess's head cocked back. He closed and locked the window before following her out. "Next time?"

Rory smiled at him, "Yes. Next time we're dragged into a dinner, I promise I will sneak out with you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He smiled lightly, looking down at her, he just couldn't figure her out, "I'm going to hold you to that."

She looked up at him, nodding, "Okay."

_**Though she never told me her name **_

_**I still love you the girl from Mars**_


	31. Girl From Mars part two

I don't own Gilmore Girls or the song _Goldfinger_ by Ash.

_**Do you remember the time I knew a girl from Mars?**_

_**I don't know if you knew that **_

_**Oh we'd stay up late playing cards **_

_**Henri Winterman cigars **_

_**And I still dream of you **_

_**I still love you girl from Mars**_

"Tristan has been really distant lately."

Rory didn't look up from her homework, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Vicky closed her text book and rolled over onto her back. "For the past few weeks we've barely been talking at all. I have to idea why."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged, biting her lip, "He gets in these moods. I wish I knew what makes him like this,  
though."

"Can't help you." Rory pulled her hair back and tied it into a knot at the back of her head. She probably could help, actually. It was most likely his parents that were putting him in his mood. He hated his parents and had been forced to move back in with them months ago. His father had cheated on his mother, but they refused to get a divorce because they didn't want to make the information public. They now either didn't speak or fought nonstop and didn't even look at Tristan anymore. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about living there.

Well, it was that, plus the fact that he was crazy about his girlfriend's little sister, but that wasn't something either of the girls knew.

_**FRI DAY**_

Rory sat out on the sun soaked lawn of Chilton, painting a flat for the play. School had ended over an hour ago, and she, Tristan, and a boy named Jarod were the only ones left. That was,  
until his ride showed up five minutes later. He stood and waved bye to them. Rory watched his car slide out of the driveway and onto the street. Her legs were stretched out in front of her as she leaned to the right to get back to painting. She was wearing basketball shorts, but they were Devin's, so they were a few sizes too big everywhere and slid up her leg when she sat down. That was what she was focusing on when cold grey paint was splattered on her thigh. She jumped three feet in the air, dropping her own paint brush.

Tristan laughed, and Rory's eyes narrowed, "That was not very nice." he just grinned and flicked his brush at her again. Her eyes closed and she twitched as the liquid landed on her bare arm. She opened her eyes to his smug smile, "You're dead."

He grinned, "Yeah?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah."

Rory dipped her brush into the can of paint, and Tristan stood up, "Come on, you don't really want to get into this." he said, backing up.

She smiled, standing, "Oh I think I do." he kept backing away and she kept going forward. "Tristan..." she called in a singsong voice.

He shook his head, "No." they were now only two feet apart, and Rory held into the handle of her paintbrush, snapping it in his direction. Tristan stood still as the paint hit him in the face and got all over the front of his shirt. Rory grinned as his hand raised slowly to wipe off his mouth,  
"That wasn't very smart." She laughed as he walked closer, but she didn't see the brush in his hand until paint was smeared into her hair.

She fell silent suddenly and her jaw dropped, eyes wide as he looked her straight in the face and streaked her hair with paint. She pulled away and grabbed his wrist, trying to get the brush away;  
but he was pulling back, both of them laughing so hard that their efforts were only halfhearted. Tristan grabbed her arm and wrenched his wrist away, swinging her around so that his arms were tight around her and her back was pulled against his front. They were still laughing as she dropped to the ground, dragging him down with her and then crawling out of his grasp. She dunked her hand into the paint can as he grasped her ankle and pulled her away from it. She rolled over and grabbed the front of his shirt with her clean hand before smearing the paint all over his jeans and then his arm.

Tristan pinned her down and straddled her. She groaned and kicked, but he just reached over her head, pulling the paint can to himself. Her eyes widened, "Tristan no!" she moved to push the can away, but he caught both of her wrists in his left hand.

"Uh-uh." he scolded, swirling his index finger in the paint. It was hard to take her seriously when she was still cracking up. He pained a huge 'T' on her shoulder, a dot on her nose, and two horizontal lines under her eyes, like a football player. Their laughter slowed down, but Rory was still giggling and he was still grinning. She wiggled her hips. She knew it was a low blow, knew that it wasn't fair, but were they really fighting fair? Tristan was five inches and a good forty pounds heavier than her, and she was pinned under him without the use of her hands. No way were they fighting fair. But wiggling her hips definitely got his attention, and when he was caught off guard she pulled her hands from him, grabbed both his sides, and threw her weight to the right. They rolled and now she was on top.

She grabbed his hands, pinning them on either side of his head. Rory leaned over him and slid her nose and both of her cheeks over his face, smearing the paint on him, and their laughter came back. They both knew perfectly well that he was letting her do this and could easily push her off. Rory pulled her face away, now both of her cheeks were covered in a thin layer of grey paint, and Tristan had spastic smears all over his face. She released his left hand and dipped her right into the paint can, holding it over him and letting droplets fall on his face. Talk about crazy Chinese water torture. He pushed her hand away and she grinned, both of their laughter having gone. Tristan sat up, forcing Rory to slide lower so that she was now in his lap, straddling him. Their faces were inches apart.

Without even thinking, Tristan took Rory's face in his hands and pulled her lips to his. She responded on instinct, pulling him closer and opening her lips slightly, allowing him to pull her bottom lip between his teeth. Rory felt her stomach melt. It had been so long since she'd kissed him, and she hated to admit that she missed it. She missed him. His hands slid slowly from her face down her body to rest on her hips, and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss if it was possible.

Her mind slowly registered what was going on, and she abruptly pulled away and slid off of him in one fluid movement. Tristan was still, his mind still back at their mouths melding together,  
but he gradually came to and realized that she'd pulled away. He looked over at her, "What?"

She shook her head, scratching the back of her neck. "No. No, no, no."

He shook his head, confused, "What's wrong?"

"You-Vicky-" she rubbed her eyes, "Fuck."

"Rory-"

"No." she buried her face in her hands, "Oh shit." he reached out to touch her arm, but she pulled away and stood up, "I have to go."

"Rory, wait-" he stood as well.

"No. Don't." she looked up at him, obviously confused, "Just..." she had nothing to say, "I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

Tristan's arms fell limply by his sides, "Bye." he said lamely as she walked away, pulling out her cell phone to call her mother to pick her up. He sat back down heavily, burying his face in his hands. Why was he still with her sister? He'd wanted to end it with her the moment he saw Rory again, but he couldn't. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to hurt Vicky. It wasn't that he liked her, but she was his friend and he didn't want to make her cry. But kissing Rory-he'd forgotten what she tasted like, what she smelled like, what it was like to play with her. He and Vicky didn't play. They just made out and talked about mindless things. She was only physical in the sexual sense of the word. They couldn't wrestle unless it was foreplay.

Tristan stood up and pulled out a cigarette; he had to end it with Vicky soon.

_**NEXT MORNING**_

Rory sat behind the reception desk at the inn, watching Michel try to make a little girl stop crying, but it wasn't working. She smiled, taking a sip of her coffee. He looked up and wrinkled his nose at her, pointing to the little girl, who was now bawling and screeching for her mommy. Rory laughed lightly and shook her head. Michel mouth something at her in French, and Rory's eyebrows arched as she stood up, walking into the kitchen. "No! No! I was just kidding. Come back here! Don't leave me!" She heard him yell something in French, but she ignored him. The swinging door closed behind her and she made her way over to the counter, sitting on one of the swivel stools and greeting Sookie warmly.

The bubbly red head smiled at her, "Rory! Are you exited about dinner tonight?" she asked.

Rory nodded, "Of course."

Sookie grinned, "I can't wait. I have a new sauce I want to try for the duck..." but Rory tuned her out. It wasn't that she was so exited about dinner tonight, but she didn't was Sookie to think she didn't love her cooking. The truth was, she didn't know what to do about tonight. Since they'd had that first dinner over a month ago, she and Jess had been hanging out a lot. She, Devin, and Vicky worked at the inn every weekend and on her lunch break she and Jess would walk around the town together. He also came to Hartford to do different things with her and her brother. The three of them, Tristan, and Vicky had even gone to a movie last weekend, and it had been kind of weird between him and Tristan. She just couldn't figure out why.

She leaned her elbows on the counter, watching Sookie gab away, but not hearing a word. Her mind was on the drama project. The stage crew had been staying after twice a week to work on the set. That meant that she and Tristan were together for two hours after school. It wasn't that it was awkward as much as it was hard. That is, it hadn't been until yesterday afternoon. Every time she thought about it she wanted to scream. She wanted to ask him why he'd chosen Vicky over her, yet he still acted like she was the one he wanted. It just didn't make any sense. She hated being around Tristan and Vicky at the same time, but she didn't mind him by himself. But there was this...thing with Jess. She didn't know if she liked him as a boyfriend or as a brother more. There had definitely been something there, she just didn't know what it was. Rory looked up at Sookie and realized that she was still talking, in fact, she was asking her a question, "-don't you think so?"

She nodded, "Definitely."

Sookie's face fell, "So you don't like my strawberry jam?"

Rory's eyes widened, "What?"

"You agreed that my blueberry jam tastes better on shortcake than my strawberry jam. You don't like my strawberry jam? Why don't you? Is there too much sugar? I knew I put too much sugar in the last jar I gave you guys-"

Rory but off her babbling, "No. I love your strawberry jam. The sugar was perfect. It was great."

Her face changed immediately, "Really? You liked it?"

She nodded, "I loved it."

_**THAT NIGHT**_

Rory sat in Sookie's livingroom, her legs crossed under her jean miniskirt. It was actually Vicky's skirt that was held up with a sparkly neon pink belt. Her arms were crossed as well and she was looking out the window, chewing on her bottom lip. Devin was next to her, his elbows resting on his knees. Tristan looked over at her brother from his place next to Vicky, "Is Jess coming?" he asked.

Devin looked up, "Yeah, he is." Tristan glanced over at Rory before nodding and looking back at the TV screen where SLC Punk was playing. She narrowed her eyes, looking between him and her brother. He just shrugged, turning to the screen as well. Five minutes later the door opened and Luke entered, followed by Jess.

"Hey Luke." Vicky called into the foyer.

"Oh, hey Vicky. Where are your mom and Sookie?"

She pointed to the kitchen, "In there."

He nodded, "Thanks."

"Uh huh."

Jess walked into the livingroom. He nodded to Vicky and hit knuckles with Devin. He held Rory's hand and kissed her cheek lightly. "Hey." he glanced minutely over at Tristan and grinned to see that the blond was fuming.

She smiled, not seeing Jess glance over at Tristan, "Hi."

He moved over to sit in one of the empty recliners and looked over at Tristan. Devin had told him the whole story about Tristan and Rory, and in Jess's opinion, any guy that chose Vicky over Rory needed some serious tests run on them, because they weren't in their right mind. They sat watching the movie until Sookie called them into the dining room to eat. Vicky stood up first,  
and Tristan followed, casting a long glance at Rory before making his way out of the room. She touched her bottom lip lightly and ran her fingers through her hair. It had taken two hours to get all the paint from her hair. Devin glanced at the other two and made a gagging sound before laughing to himself and going into the dining room.

Jess stared at Rory, raising his eyebrows slightly. She looked at the doorway her brother had left through before grinning and following him. Jess's jaw dropped, but she shook her head reassuringly and motioning for him to come as well. They took their seats at the table, passing around their plates. There were more people here than there had been last time they'd had dinner. Now Rune, Miss Patty, Babette, Maury, and Kirk had warranted invites.

"Sookie, doll, this sauce is amazing. What In the world is in it?" Patty asked.

She grinned, "Family secret. I can't-"

"Mine's dry." Kirk announced, cutting her off.

The table went silent, and Sookie looked up at him, "What?"

"My chicken is dry. I don't know why."

"Wha-you...chicken? This is duck! And it's not dry!" Sookie yelled in disbelief. Within five minutes the argument had escalated and both of them were standing, their chairs overturned. As everyone else tried to restore calm, Rory caught Jess's gaze and they both crept silently from their chairs. They made their way quickly through the living room and Jess held the front door open for Rory.

"How did you know that would happen?" he asked as he followed her out of the house.

She grinned, "I told Kirk it was chicken. Besides, something like that was bound to happen within the first half an hour with him there."

Jess laughed, "Very nice."

"Thanks."

They walked through the streets of Stars Hollow in a comfortable silence until he finally spoke,  
"So what do you want to do tonight?"

She shrugged, "Well, I'm thinking that no matter what we do, we'll get away with it-"

He grinned, "Why do you think that?"

"Jess, darling, you are the only criminal in Stars Hollow, but you've never actually been caught"  
she thought for a moment, "Well, actually, I would get away with anything we did, whereas everyone would know that you'd done it."

He smiled at her sarcastically, "Thanks Rory."

"No problem." she smiled and they kept walking, making their way gradually to the bridge. They sat down slowly and watched the swans move lazily across the lake. It was almost dark and the sky was slowly fading to black. Rory laid on her back and stared up at the stars that had appeared, and they just laid there, not talking or moving. Her eyes continued to stray in the direction that they'd come, and Jess knew that she was thinking about Tristan. He glanced over at her, chewing on the inside of his cheek. She was gorgeous, he'd give her that. She sat up as well and looked over at him, waiting for him to say something.

He looked like he was about to say something, but they his face changed, and he leaned forward. Rory body stopped as Jess's lips landed on hers. Nothing else was touching, but there was something there she didn't like. It wasn't a long kiss, only a few seconds, and he pulled away. She inhaled deeply, her breath shaky, and Jess looked at her expectantly. They sat there for several minutes, neither speaking until he asked her, "Anything?"

Her head cocked back, surprised and slightly offended. But then she sat for a moment and actually thought about it, "No." she sounded confused. She'd expected something to be there with Jess. She'd wanted something to be there with Jess.

He nodded, "Yeah, me either."

Rory just sat for a moment, looking over at him. He didn't seem surprised or upset at all. How much time had he spent thinking about this? "What..." she trailed off, "What does this mean?"

He laughed lightly, "Rory, you're like a sister to me. You're gorgeous, I know that. Any guy who looks at you knows that. Tristan still knows that. You're not over him and he's not over you-" she opened her mouth, but he refused to be cut off, "-and I know that you were using me and you as an excuse not to be with him." she looked down guiltily, "There's nothing between us, Ror. It's not worth it and you know that."

She nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Jess looked out over the lake, "So tell Tristan. He's still crazy about you."

Rory closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, "I know."


End file.
